The Woodlands man held in Dominican Republic prison for more than a year found not guilty
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Larry Davis has missed holidays, birthdays and the 2016 election, spending 14 months in a Dominican Republic prison cell.
Tuesday, a three-judge panel in the country found him not guilty of drug smuggling, a crime for which he was charged when the boat he leased to another company arrived in a Dominican Republic port with what authorities said was a large quantity of illegal drugs.
Davis' attorney insisted from the start that Davis had "nothing to do with hiring the ship's crew, captain, and engineer -- that was done by the company to which he leased the ship."
Instead, his lawyer said Davis was called to come to the Dominican Republic to resolve an inspection question when he was arrested.
The days became weeks, then months, then a year, as the The Woodlands husband sat in a prison cell.
Tuesday came the long-awaited light at the end of the tunnel, said attorney Sean Buckley, who was with Davis in court.
"The judges criticized the government for not even linking Larry Davis to the drugs in any way, or any communication with the two people who were linked to the drugs," Buckley said Tuesday by phone.
Davis will still have to be processed out of prison. If things move quickly, he could be back in The Woodlands in three days.
In the Dominican Republic, the government can appeal a verdict or ruling. Buckley doesn't believe that will happen, but the case won't truly be over until Davis is back on home soil.
Davis' wife, Stacy, will wait for his return at home.
"I just want my husband back," she told Eyewitness News two months ago. She still does.
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