Selfie saved innocent man from 99-year prison sentence
Topics: Crime, Texas, US News, Technology
Ella Sankey
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/ Erin Prinkston Precopia
Topics: Crime, Texas, US News, Technology
A man was saved from potentially spending 99 years behind bars thanks to a casual selfie he'd taken while hanging out with family.
Christopher Precopia's ordeal began after his former girlfriend claimed she had her home broken into and was severely attacked.
Precopia and his girlfriend had broken up a number of years earlier and he claimed that he couldn't remember the last time the two had contact. But by the evening of 22 September 2017, he found himself in jail facing a prison sentence of 99 years.
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The former girlfriend, who remains unnamed, sustained injuries from the attack consisting of an 'X' sliced into her chest with a box cutter.
As per USA Today, Precopia said he 'had no idea why everything was happening' when he was taken to the Williamson County Jail.
Fortunately for him, his parents paid his bond, a sum of $150,000 and subsequently began fighting for his innocence...
On the night that his former girlfriend was allegedly attacked Precopia was in fact, with his mother, Erin, at a hotel in Northwest Austin, Texas.
The hotel was said to be 65 miles from the accuser's home, making it a sufficient alibi for the confused alleged culprit, Precopia.
As per USA Today, his relieved mother, Erin Precopia said: "This is awesome. By the grace of God she said it happened on the day when I can totally, 100 percent, where he was."
His mother remembered posting a group selfie at the same time of the alleged attack that was geolocated and time-stamped. The photo evidently shows accused Precopia in the corner on the left foreground along with another couple in the background.
Erin added: "Thankfully, I do log on Facebook all the time, and I check in when I go places."
Thousands of dollars and countless meetings with their lawyer later, the Precopia family took their blatant evidence to the Bell County prosecutor. Nine months following his arrest, charges were dropped 'in the interest of justice' and Precopia was released.
A number of additional sworn affidavits from friends and family with Precopia at the time aided his defense and proved him innocent as well as the group selfie.
Precopia's attorney, Rick Flores said: "It's not normally black and white. But this is one of the cases I could definitely prove he did not commit this offense," as per USA Today.
So why was someone so blatantly not guilty, arrested and charged?
The alleged victim had told the police their relationship was 'troubled' when they dated years earlier in high school, which could have given Precopia a clear motive for the assault.
District Attorney, Henry Garza told USA Today: "We are always willing to listen and examine new information, and thats exactly what we did in this case."
The family paid over $340,000 in legal fees and Precopia remained unable to apply to the US Army as a result of the charges.
Precopia has since said to USA Today: "I'm ready to actually live my life, the way I want to, without having any kind of worry that this can come back and hurt me."