SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A circuit court judge in Suffolk ordered a new trial on Wednesday for a man found guilty of felony possession of a firearm last year.

Haywood Williams III of Suffolk was found guilty of the charge by a jury in September of 2018. The charge was one of several stemming from an incident in 2017. 

During the trial, the commonwealth’s attorney did not mention a piece of evidence that both Williams and his defense attorney believe could clear his name. 

Suffolk Police dusted the guns in question for fingerprints back when the investigation began. Court records state there was only a smudge on the gun and “not sufficient detail” for a print to identify anyone. 

The judge agreed on Wednesday that the evidence was vital to Williams’ case, therefore he deserved a new trial. 

The legal issue is Exculpatory Evidence. That is evidence which will tend to show the defendant is not guilty or has no criminal intent. In court on Wednesday, case law stated over the years that it is a constitutional right for someone accused to be told about evidence that could prove his or her innocence. That did not happen in Williams’ case, who said outside court, “I was elated. I wanted to jump up out of the chair, but I know I was in court, so I didn’t.”

Williams’ nightmare began at his family home on N. Capital Street in Suffolk on October 18, 2017. As a convicted felon, he can not possess firearms, but Suffolk police claimed they found three guns inside his home. 10 On Your Side asked him: how does he explain the guns in the home when he was a convicted felon and now allowed to possess guns?

“There were several people staying there while I was away. They were not my guns, no they weren’t.”

What Williams and his attorney, Sonny Stallings, didn’t know was the guns were dusted for finger prints. 

The analysis returned 10 months before trial and no prints were found. There was a latent print, but it had insufficient detail.

Williams’ fingerprints are not on the guns. 

In court, two Suffolk police forensic technicians said they knew this, and emailed their CSI Processing Analysis results to the requesting officer. The officer, Ryan Linville, refused to comment in court, but he claims he did not receive the emails.

Stallings is amazed by that.

“That bothered the judge because he read the transcript where the detective said he did not receive the emails, but the Commonwealth’s witnesses said they sent him the emails giving him the results, and that upset the judge.”

Then Judge Ward Eason challenged Asst. Commonwealth’s Attorney Vaughn Breedlove, who during the hearing insisted none of the evidence presented frees Williams from guilt or blame. 

“None of the evidence is exculpatory and would have changed the jury’s verdict,” Breedlove said.  Stallings counters, “in the end when the judge said ‘if you (Breedlove) had the evidence (involving Williams) would you have given it to the defense?’ He said of course he would, so don’t come in and say you wouldn’t have.”

It was clear at that point Judge Eason thought the evidence was exculpatory, inferring it undermined the jury’s guilty verdict.

He declared a mistrial, and ordered a new trial. As for the Suffolk Police and Commonwealth’s Attorney Office, Stallings says, “it says they are sloppy, but this is nothing to be sloppy about. It’s about this man’s freedom (pointing to Williams) a jury recommend two years in the penitentiary for him, and that’s where he would be if we hadn’t discovered this evidence.”

As for Haywood, he’s back in Court March 29 for a new trial date. “We got a new gameplan, we are back on the playing field again, and we are on an even keel,” Williams said before walking away.

The Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Vaughn Breedlove claims he did not know about the fingerprint analysis during trial. We asked him for comment, but he refused, claiming the case is still a pending legal matter.

The details on the new trial for Haywood Williams III will be hammered out next Friday.