Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Jonathan Villagran

 

Charge:

Drug related and firearm charges

Sentence:

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2015

Year Convicted:

2015

Year Cleared:

2017

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Massachusetts

County or Region of Crime:

Norfolk

City of Crime:

Milton

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Jonathan Villagran was wrongly convicted of convicted of carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds, possession of a firearm without a firearm identification card, disturbing a school, and possession of a class D substance with intent to distribute. Villagran's prosecution was based on a search of his backpack at Milton HIgh School in Milton, Mass. on March 25, 2015 when police were called to report an unauthorized person on school grounds. The 19-year-old Villagran had about $3,000 in his backpack. Villagran's motion to suppress the evidence of the search because it was conducted without probable cause was denied by the judge in the Quincy District Court. After his conviction by a jury Villagran appealed. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court transferred the case to its jurisdiction on its own motion. On August 29, 2017 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in a majority 4-2 ruling reversed Villagran's convictions on the basis the trial judge erred denying his motion to suppress, because the police had no reason to believe he was dangerous and therefore they did not have probable cause to search his backpack. The Court's ruling stated: "We conclude that the police officer lacked reasonable articulable suspicion that the defendant had committed a crime and that the circumstances of the encounter with the defendant did not warrant a reasonable belief that the defendant was armed and dangerous to the officer or others. Nor was the search permissible under any exception to the warrant requirement. Thus, because neither the patfrisk nor the search of the defendant's backpack was justified on any of these grounds, the denial of the motion to suppress was error. Therefore, we vacate his convictions of the firearms and drug charges.""

Conviction Caused By:

Illegal search without probable cause.

Innocence Proved By:

"On August 29, 2017 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in a majority ruling reversed Villagran's convictions on the basis the trial judge erred denying his motion to suppress, because the police had no reason to believe he was dangerous and therefore they did not have probable cause to search his backpack. The Court's ruling stated: "We conclude that the police officer lacked reasonable articulable suspicion that the defendant had committed a crime and that the circumstances of the encounter with the defendant did not warrant a reasonable belief that the defendant was armed and dangerous to the officer or others. Nor was the search permissible under any exception to the warrant requirement. Thus, because neither the patfrisk nor the search of the defendant's backpack was justified on any of these grounds, the denial of the motion to suppress was error. Therefore, we vacate his convictions of the firearms and drug charges.""

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Hispanic

Information Source 1:

"Commonwealth vs. Jonathan Villagran, 477 Mass. 711, 2017 Mass. LEXIS 625 (Mass. Sup. Jud. Ct., 8-29-2017) (Reversing conviction based on no probable cause for search.)"

Information Location 1:

https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/macourts/

Information Source 2:

"State's SJC Overturns Conviction Of Watertown Man Found With Gun At Milton High School, By Daniel Libon (Patch staff), Milton Patch (Milton, MA), August 29, 2017"

Information Location 2:

https://patch.com/massachusetts/milton/states-sjc-overturns-conviction-watertown-man-found-gun-milton-high-school

Information Source 3:

"Teen with Loaded Gun, Drugs, Money Arrested Outside Milton High School, By John Waller, Boston Globe, March 25, 2015"

Information Location 3:

https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/03/25/police-teen-with-loaded-gun-drugs-money-arrested-outside-milton-high-school

Information Source 4:

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Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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