Pubdate: Mon, 10 Jan 2005 Source: Indianapolis Star (IN) Copyright: 2005 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.indystar.com/help/contact/letters.html Website: http://www.starnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/210 DRUG CONVICTION TOSSED - PRISONER OF 5 YEARS FREED Gary -- A man who spent five years in prison for a drug conviction is back home after a federal judge overturned his conviction and sentence. Robert Gardner owes his freedom to six attorneys who represent criminal defendants who can't afford lawyers. "This is why our office exists and why you need to have a zealous criminal defense bar," said Jerry Flynn, executive director of the federal defenders. In May 1999, Gardner visited a Gary home minutes before police investigators swooped down on the address, which prosecutors described as a crack house. Gardner, now 31, was arrested and charged with maintaining a crack house, conspiracy and possession of crack cocaine found near him during a search. Prosecutors dropped the charge of maintaining a crack house before trial, and a jury acquitted him of the drug possession charge. But Gardner was convicted of being part of the conspiracy running the crack house. He was sentenced to 151 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano recently overturned the conviction after Gardner's attorneys presented evidence that a Gary man never called to testify could have helped Gardner's case. That man told one of Gardner's attorneys last year he would have testified that Gardner wasn't selling drugs inside the house. The U.S. attorney's office decided last month to dismiss the case. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek