WENTWORTH, N.C. -- A Reidsville man convicted of shooting his father inside their family funeral home has been released from prison after a review of his case file.
A second look at the case revealed problems with the prosecution while former Rockingham County District Attorney Craig Blitzer was in office.
Garcia Fenwick Johnson took a plea deal on January 30, 2017 to shooting his father, James Johnson, inside the Johnson & Son Funeral Home in Reidsville back in 2015.
Now, Johnson's case is back at square one, according to interim District Attorney Tom Keith.
Johnson's lawyers filed a motion asking for a new trial because of the mishandled evidence.
Keith approved the motion, which freed Johnson from jail. Johnson left jail Wednesday after a judge lowered his bond from $500,000 to $10,000. Johnson still faces an assault charge related to the shooting.
Johnson's attorneys found that Blitzer withheld nine discs of evidence from the defense. Those discs included:
- A photograph taken by investigators at the scene that shows Johnson's father lying on the floor holding a gun in his hand.
- A video statement of Johnson's father saying he did not want to go forward with the prosecution of his son.
- Information that the FBI didn't plan to file federal charges against Johnson, despite a statement from Blitzer saying "he would be indicted federally if he did not accept a plea in State Court."
Johnson's lawyers also stated in the motion that some of the withheld evidence would have given their client a self-defense claim.
Earlier this month, Keith announced that all 16 cases handled by former D.A. Blitzer needed to be reviewed after finding legal and ethical problems with how Blitzer handled seven other cases.
Johnson's case was one of the 16 handled by Blitzer, which prompted his lawyers' motion for a new trial.
Blitzer resigned in March 2017, during a criminal investigation of his office. He pleaded guilty the following July to misdemeanor Failure to Discharge Duties of His Office.
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