For at least the third time in the past five years, a criminal conviction has been thrown out of Roanokeâs federal court based on prosecutorsâ failure to reveal evidence that might have helped the accused.
In the most recent case, charges were dismissed Monday against Amany Raya, who was convicted last year of conspiring to smuggle a cellphone to her boyfriend in the Roanoke City Jail, where he was awaiting trial on drug charges.
Raya, 39, was free on bond awaiting sentencing when the case against her began to unravel.
In January, defense attorney Aaron Cook filed a motion for a new trial, claiming that prosecutors had failed to tell Rayaâs previous attorney about information that suggested other people might have been involved in the crime she was convicted of.