Winston Secures Dismissal of Charges for Young Black Man Wrongly Accused of a Crime

A Chicago team won a full dismissal of bogus felony charges against a 19-year-old Black man. Winston represented him as part of the firm’s Racial Justice & Equity CEASE Initiative.

In July 2024, our client was riding a scooter while delivering an Instacart order when he was wrongly accused and arrested for robbery and aggravated battery. An intoxicated victim identified our client only after a Chicago police sergeant pointed him out and asked if our client was the person who had robbed and assaulted him. Shortly before, the victim had wrongly accused someone else but quickly recanted. Despite having an alibi for where he was when the crime occurred, our client was arrested and charged.

To prove our client’s innocence, Winston obtained security camera footage from a nearby condominium, the Chicago Housing Authority, and Chicago Police Department surveillance cameras, all of which clearly showed the victim initiating a drug transaction and then being assaulted by the drug dealers. The team also reached out to Instacart and obtained proof that our client was in his home when the victim was assaulted. 

Winston lawyers presented the prosecutor with their extensive exculpatory evidence and on the eve of trial all charges against our client were dropped. 

“We are thrilled our client has been exonerated and can now go back to focusing on completing his associate’s degree in early childhood education and working as a pre-school teacher,” said Jake Ferzacca.

Congratulations to the Winston team for preventing a life-altering miscarriage of justice. In addition to Jake, the team included Bethany Ao, Bill Green, Steve Grimes, and Jon Mantis.

Learn more about Winston’s commitment to excellence in serving the public interest.