A former D.C. firefighter spent nearly two years in prison after being wrongfully arrested graduated Wednesday from Georgetown’s paralegal program. News4’s Aimee Cho reports.
As Elon Royster graduates from a paralegal program, the day was a reminder of where he’s going and also where he has been.
“Just want to help people that went through what I went through, experiencing what I’m experiencing,” Royster said. “It’s not just about being unjust, experiencing unjust. It’s about returning citizens coming home.”
Six years ago, Royster was driving in Fairfax County when Officer Jonathan Freitag pulled him over and accused him of having pills and guns in the car. Royster said they weren’t his.
A judge later found the officer had lied about the reason for the stop, but not before Royster took a plea deal and spent nearly two years in prison.
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“It was rough ‘cause I had to watch my son grow up through video visits,” he said. “Missed his first steps, first words, riding a bike, birthdays.”
The officer claimed Royster’s car had crossed the line that night, even though it didn't appear so in a video.
“The approach I took through it all was just, it could be worse, it could be worse,” Royster said.
“Just keep pushing on. It could be worse.”
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Royster said after he left prison, he struggled to find a job. One employer told him they didn’t like what they saw when they searched for his name online, though he had been exonerated.
“People that I knew that were locked up, it was hard finding stable shelter, or education or job opportunities, so they resort back to the same thing that put them in there in the first place.” he said.
Royster found a six-month paralegal program for returning citizens. It’s offered by Georgetown Law School as part of the Prisons and Justice Initiative and through a partnership with the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs (MORCA).
“Georgetown was the only one that gave me the opportunity to prove myself,” Royster said. “This program right here, that’s why I took it so seriously. I took it like a sign of God, honestly.”
Next up, he said he hopes to attend law school and go into policy reform work.
“I feel like a new chapter in my life is starting, so, taking full advantage of it,” Royster said.
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Freitag is no longer with the Fairfax County Police Department. The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office previously said it was reviewing about 400 convictions linked to Freitag.
News4 asked about the cases again this week and they said to throw out a conviction in Virginia, the process has to be initiated by the defense attorney, and many people’s defense attorneys were no longer involved in their cases because they’d already been resolved.
