A New York man has been cleared of drug charges after his smoke shop's surveillance footage showed a police informant apparently planting a vial of crack cocaine in his store.
Police were suspicious of Donald Andrews Jr.'s store, which sells incense and smoking paraphernalia, and sent undercover informants twice in March, according to NBC News. The second time around, Andrews' attorney alleges the informant planted the crack on a counter in the shop.
Check out the video, posted on Reddit by 2ACheck:
Andrews was arrested in April and cleared only after he asked a Grand Jury to watch the surveillance footage from his store. The informant used a cellphone photo he took of the planted drugs as evidence that Andrews was dealing, leading to his arrest.
The sheriff says his investigators didn't purposely framed Andrews, but the informant who appeared on the surveillance videos has now fled.
Two other drug cases using that informant led to convictions, according to ABC News 10 in Albany. Police are now searching for the man.
Join the conversation about this story »
     |