GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The case of a man accused of kidnapping and raping his ex-girlfriend could be dropped because of a mistake by the district attorney.
Jokisha Brown died a few months after her ex-boyfriend, Alfredo Capote, allegedly kidnapped and raped her. He fled the scene and was later sentenced to federal prison in an unrelated case. After years in prison, Capote said he wrote a letter to Gwinnett authorities demanding action in his case, but no one can find the letter.
His attorney said too much time has passed and now, Capote wants all charges dismissed on a technicality.
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Channel 2′s Tony Thomas was in the courtroom in Lawrenceville Friday evening. The case could possibly be dropped because of lost paperwork.
Stuck in the middle, Brown’s family and friends are waiting for justice.
“Right now we are just trying to maintain patience,” said Brown’s friend, Sabre Williams.
Brown’s family and friends said they have waited years for justice, and they aren’t giving up, despite the accusations of lost paperwork that could derail the case.
Defense attorney Bruce Harvey said the letter just “disappeared.”
“It came into the courthouse and it just disappeared,” Harvey said.
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Harvey and prosecutors argued the issue Friday afternoon.
“The state sat on its behind for four and a half years and now we are in the clock,” Harvey said.
The district attorney said that despite the paperwork mix-up, she believes her office has until this summer to get the case to trial.
The judge wants written briefs on the law but said she will make a decision as soon as possible. If the charges are dismissed, Capote is set to be released from prison on June 29.
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