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Exclusive: Jogger detained by SAPD faces marathon to clear his record

Bexar County prosecutors dropped the felony charges against Mathias Ometu when he got out of jail in early September. But the arrest still stains his record.

SAN ANTONIO — Three months is not enough time for Mathias Ometu to get past his famous confrontation with the San Antonio Police Department in late August.

"I think about the embarrassment—the isolation. The pain," he said.  

The 34-year-old was out for a jog on August 25 as police started searching for a family violence suspect on Woodstone Dr. on the city's northwest side.

They stopped Ometu to see if he was the suspect. Texas law does not require those held or questioned by law enforcement to answer. 

"I didn't do anything wrong that day," he said.

The meeting between Ometu and officers evolved into a showdown. His jog ended with police pushing him into the back of a patrol vehicle. Officers said, during the scuffle, he assaulted them. Ometu believed he became a target because he is Black.

"The person (victim) who was giving a description---she described that person with a short scruffy beard," he said. "My beard is nothing short. It's laughable."

SAPD admitted Ometu was not their man. Darren Anthony Smith, according to investigators, is the actual suspect. The two do not look alike.

"When I saw that image, it just made me laugh," he said.

But the clash with police was no laughing matter. Cell phone video from attorney Victor Maas and his girlfriend Jennifer Rodriguez ignited viral scrutiny of SAPD. 

Police Chief William McManus believed the racial undertones exaggerated the facts from the scene. He welcomed the dismissal of charges by Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales.

"That incident will never go away in my mind. I'm going to live with that incident every day of my life," Ometu said. "There's not a day that goes by where I don't think about that day."

His memories are not the only thing that won't go away. Even though his charges got dismissed, the record of two felony charges still live.

"There is a statute of limitation requirement that those charges stay on your record," attorney Artessia House said. "Generally, that is two years."

House worked on Ometu's case. She said Texas's expunction laws are punitive to innocent people and those who have charges dismissed.

"There's an injustice in that, especially when it comes to a felony," she said.

Felonious crimes could impact livelihood and where one lives. 

"These are serious charges," Geary Reamey said. "That by itself is far as a lot of people will need to go to deny him that job or that certification or licensure."

Reamey is a St. Mary's Law professor who thinks lawmakers in Texas should consider reforming its stringent expunction laws.

"I would like to see Texas law changed so that for a number of these situations, like Mr. Ometu," he said. "To where the charges have been dropped, the expunction would happen automatically."

Reamey believes the state should bear the burden and not the former defendant, who may not be able to afford the price tag or the patience for expungement. 

"For misdemeanor arrests, the usual waiting period is one year," Reamey said. "Felony arrests, the usual waiting period is three years."

He said that time span before day one of even beginning the legal removal unless a district attorney signs off on immediate expungement. 

 Meantime, Texans in Ometu's position live life as if they are on parole or probation even though they are supposed to be charge-free.

He said expungement of a conviction is also available but generally rare in Texas.

Ometu must wait it out as he tries to heal from his encounter with the police.

Three months later, he believes he would still not give police his identity as afforded by law. But Ometu said he'd likely show more patience than annoyance.

These days he's trying to stay under the radar, avoid police, and not run any jogging trail that's outside.

"I don't feel as free as I used to feel," he said.

 

 

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