'It's unfair': Mother says teen's wrongful arrest had him in jail for 48 hours
SPRING, Texas (KTRK) -- A teen spent days in jail and was left with thousands in fees after being arrested for a crime he didn't commit, a mother said.
Rosland Wright told ABC13 her son, 17-year-old Leonard King, spent 48 hours in jail for an aggravated assault investigators later determined he wasn't involved in.
Wright said last month, her son was arrested by Harris County Constable Precinct 4.
She said a photo of his arrest was posted on Precinct 4's social media page after he was taken into custody while at the apartment complex where they live.
Wright said she wasn't home at the time, but that he was gone when she got back.
"They didn't give me any information because he's 17. With him being 17, they charged him as an adult," Wright said.
According to court records, a juvenile victim told deputies there was a planned meet-up for a fight.
The victim said when he got there, someone got out of a vehicle with a gun and hit him several times.
The next day, Wright said her son was taken into custody as the alleged suspect.
"He did 48 hours in jail for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and he knew he didn't do it, but the police didn't believe him," Wright said.
She went to law enforcement and the Harris County District Attorney's office with video evidence she found to clear her son's name.
"It was easy for me to pull up the stuff on social media and identify the kids and to do my part as a mom, you know, to make sure that this was cleared up," Wright said.
Top Stories
According to court documents, after reviewing video of the assault, deputies concluded, "the originally identified individual was not responsible for committing the offense."
Precinct 4 said the charges against King were dropped and that the correct suspect was arrested.
Court documents said a deputy identified King as the suspect through a school photo ID card and a physical description.
Wright said the only thing the correct suspect and her son have in common is their first name.
"If you look at the pictures of the kids, they look nothing alike," Wright said. "I don't want to say this was a case of mistaken identity and negligence, but I truly believe that's exactly what it was."
Now, Wright said she's left fighting to make sure this doesn't follow her son into the next chapter of his life.
"When it comes to that, getting this expunged and smoothed over, it is left on me to fit the bill of the $5,000, $1,500 retainer fee, $398 filing fee, and it's just left up to me to clean it up," Wright said. "I feel like it's unfair. You made a mistake. Fix it. Fix it."
ABC13 asked Precinct 4 how something like this could've happened. They didn't answer specific questions, but sent a statement that read in part:
"Based on the information provided by the victim, deputies located an individual believed to be the suspect."
ABC13 also reached out to the DA's office about the case and is waiting to hear back.
