HOUSTON
A judge on Monday dismissed a theft charge against a Houston area health department doctor who had been accused by prosecutors of stealing nine doses of coronavirus vaccine from a damaged vial and administering them to family and friends.
Authorities had alleged that Hasan Gokal, who worked for Harris County Public Health, stole a vial of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine while working at a vaccination site at a suburban Houston park on Dec. 29.
But Harris County Court-At-Law Judge Franklin Bynum found there was no probable cause to charge Gokal with theft. The judge criticized prosecutors for charging Gokal, saying their probable cause complaint was “riddled with sloppiness and errors.”
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) A grand jury could decide if a Harris County doctor will be charged with stealing nine doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
A judge dismissed a case against Harris County Public Health worker Dr. Hasan Gokal, who is accused of taking a vial from a vaccine site in Humble. Records show no probable cause in Gokal s case.
Gokal worked for the county and the district attorney argued he stole the doses to give to family and friends, but Gokal s attorney said the doses would have been thrown out if he had not intervened. It seems that his motives were a bit more mitigating, it wasn t like he was taking this medication to try and sell it, legal expert Steve Shellist said of the case.
"He abused his position to place his friends and family in line in front of people who had gone through the lawful process to be there," a prosecutor said.
Federation, reflection days can mark progress, history
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January 25, 2021 12.05am
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There is clearly an appetite in this country to annually renew and celebrate our national spirit while reflecting on the sins of our beginnings (“Date with destiny”, January 23-24). Moving Australia Day to January 1, the date of Federation in 1901, would allow us to mark the first steps towards independence from Great Britain without the day being overly burdened by guilt and introspection. January 26 could then be re-designated as national reflection day, an opportunity to contemplate the Indigenous experience since 1788 and to renew the national commitment to equality and inclusiveness for all who live here. A mature community should be able to acknowledge its shortcomings, both historic and contemporary.