Defense: Mistaken Identity Lands Man Behind Bars

A case of mistaken identity caused a man to be jailed for more than 10 months for a crime he did not commit, an attorney said today.

Charles Andre Powell, 40, was arrested in April on suspicion of mugging a Temecula man in his garage as he was about to leave for work.

To read the initial report on what happened,

He was found not guilty last week for this crime, according to court records. He was still in jail today waiting to be sentenced for possessing drugs for sale, a charge which was unrelated to the mugging.

He was jailed because of mistaken identity,  Defense Attorney Jeff Zimel said today.

The victim was robbed by two men wearing masks, but a witness saw two Black men running down the victim's road just after the incident, Zimel said.

To read about the crime and Powell's arrest, .

When investigators asked the witness whether she could identify the men she saw, she said no. Then investigators showed the witness six photos of suspects matching the basic description of the men she saw. She pointed out Powell, according to Zimel.

After seeing the photos, she said she was 75 percent sure Powell was the right suspect, and by the time she took the witness stand last month, she was even surer.

"By the time we got to trial, she was 100 percent sure," Zimel said.

Psychological experts took the stand during the trial and testified about how the power of suggestion changed the witness' mind from being completely unable to identify the suspect to being 100 percent sure who it was, Zimel recalled.

No witnesses testified about what Powell was actually doing when the crime happened. Only one witness could have testified about what he was doing, but he was unable to testify due to Fifth Amendment issues, Zimel said.