PHOENIX (AP) - A federal appeals court has overturned a Navajo Nation resident’s conviction in a sex-crime case, ruling that his confession to law enforcement agents was involuntary and shouldn’t have been used during his trial.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that Tymond Preston’s severe intellectual impairment and police tactics that included repetitive questioning and threats for the interrogation to continue without end overwhelmed his will and made his statements involuntary.
However, the ruling also said there’s enough other evidence to warrant another trial for Preston in the 2009 case.
Preston was sentenced to four years in prison, and the federal Bureau of Prisons web site says he was released April 4.
Preston’s appellate lawyer, Keith Swisher, did not immediately return a call for comment on what happens next.
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