A man in Texas was able to save himself from a life in prison by proving his innocence with the help of a geotagged selfie taken with his family on Facebook. According to KVUE, Cristopher Precopia was accused by his ex-girlfriend of breaking into her home and using a box cutter to slice an X into her chest.
Precopia said he hadn’t spoken to the ex in years and swore he was innocent – he was even almost 70 miles away when the crime took place. Out of nowhere, Precopia was facing a felony charge: burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit other crimes. Precopia was taken to the Williamson County Jail, where his parents posted a $150,000 bond. Then they began fighting to prove his innocence.
How He Was Able to Prove His Innocence with a Selfie
With the help of a photo his mom asked for while they were together, he was able to prove that his alibi was solid. On the night the accuser says she was attacked, he was with his mother, Erin, at a Northwest Austin hotel about 65 miles from her home. It wasn’t difficult to get sworn affidavits from several people who were with him that evening. But what really saved him were the photos from that night that were posted to Facebook with timestamps and geotags.
Nine months after Precopia’s arrest, Flores said he took the evidence of an alibi to Bell County prosecutors, who dropped the charge “in the interest of justice.”
What Is an Alibi
Alibi is a Latin word that means “in another place.” The legal defense of alibi is when a defendant has asserted that they were somewhere else when the crime he or she is accused of took place. Thus, the defendant is not guilty of committing the crime.
To present a successful alibi, the defense presents evidence to show that the defendant was not present at the time and place of the commission of the alleged crime. Furthermore, the defense attempts to show that the evidence creates a reasonable doubt as to whether the defendant was present at the time the crime was committed, thus requiring the defendant be found not guilty of the crime.
Having a provable alibi is one of the most reliable defenses one can have when accused of commit a crime they are not responsible for.
If you or someone you know has been charged for a crime they didn’t commit but has a solid alibi, contact an experienced criminal justice defense attorney to help you prove your case. There’s nothing worse than suffering through a fight for something you know you’re not at fault for.
References:
Man said selfie helped prevent him from life in prison. (2018, November 20). Retrieved from https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/man-said-selfie-helped-prevent-him-from-life-in-prison/
How a selfie saved a Williamson County man from 99 years in prison. (2018, November 12). Retrieved from https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/how-a-selfie-saved-a-williamson-county-man-from-99-years-in-prison/613848030
Alibi. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alibi