{"id":44212,"date":"2025-02-07T11:47:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T11:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/?p=44212"},"modified":"2025-02-07T11:47:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T11:47:21","slug":"selfie-taken-by-mom-saves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/?p=44212","title":{"rendered":"Selfie taken by mom saves>>>>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Christopher \u201cCJ\u201d Precopia found himself at the center of a nightmare when he was falsely accused of a brutal attack against his ex-girlfriend. But a casual selfie, captured by his mother, provided the critical evidence needed to clear the young man\u2019s name, freeing him from a lifetime behind bars.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the morning of September 22, 2017, Christopher \u201cCJ\u201d Precopia clocked in for what seemed like a normal day at a lumber yard in Georgetown, Texas. By the end of the day, his life took a devastating turn when police officers arrived at his workplace and arrested him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 21-year-old man was facing a possible 99-year prison sentence, and he couldn\u2019t figure out why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m just spun around, handcuffs put on,\u201d CJ told ABC News affiliate KVUE<\/a>.  \u201cI had no idea who accused me of this, I had no idea why everything was happening, and I was lost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then he learned his high school ex, Faith Cox \u2013 whom he hadn\u2019t seen in years \u2013 was leading the charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the suspect\u2019s mother, Erin, CJ and the girl dated for about six weeks while her son was a 17-year-old high school senior, and she was a 15-year-old sophomore. She told\u00a0ABC News<\/a>\u00a0that the breakup was not amicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to reports, Cox claimed that on the evening of September 20, 2017, around 7:20 p.m., her former high school sweetheart broke into her home in Temple and violently attacked her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reporting officer also said he observed cuts and injuries to the Cox\u2019s face and hands, which he said were likely made by a box cutter, the weapon that according to the teenager, was used by CJ to carve an \u201cX\u201d into her chest, and for cutting her face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could hear the slices being made,\u201d the Cox claimed in a handwritten statement to police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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99 problems<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite having no physical evidence connecting him to the crime, CJ was arrested and charged with first-degree felony burglary of a habitation with intent to commit additional felonies, an offense punishable by up to 99 years if convicted, Flores said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was constantly fearful as to what could happen the next day. I was going to sleep hoping I wouldn\u2019t wake up. Just to get away from it,\u201d A teary-eyed CJ told ABC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With his freedom hanging in the balance, the man was taken to the Williamson County Jail, where his parents managed to secure his release by posting a $150,000 bond. What followed was a relentless fight to prove his innocence \u2013 a battle that would ultimately rely on an unexpected source of evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Game-changing selfie<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite knowing he was innocent, CJ spent the next nine months living in fear of spending a lifetime behind bars: \u201cThat\u2019s what I was scared of most, just going to prison for no reason,\u201d the man said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then a piece of casual evidence turned the case around \u2013 a selfie taken by his mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The snap, taken on the same day Erin\u2019s son was accused of the vicious assault, showed her, CJ, and a group of friends at the Renaissance Austin Hotel, about 70 miles away from Cox\u2019s home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And at 7:02 p.m. \u2013 only 18 minutes before the alleged attack \u2013 she shared the image on Facebook, a digital footprint with crucial timestamp and geolocation data that served as irrefutable proof that CJ could not have committed the crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nine months after CJ\u2019s arrest, the evidence was presented to the prosecutors, who subsequently dismissed the charge \u201cin the interest of justice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The accuser had informed the police that she and CJ had a troubled relationship when they dated in high school several years ago, which she cited as the reason for reporting the alleged assault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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