TOLEDO, Ohio — It's been a long road for Vontae Garrett, going back to October of 2022 when a night out with friends at a local bar ended with a group of men pulling guns on him and his friends, leading to Garrett shooting and killing another man.
Garrett was charged with murder in the death of Mark Wysinger and stayed in the county jail for nine months.
But, his fortune seemingly changed when a jury ruled he killed Wysinger in self-defense, making him a free man once again.
"Of course you get angry when you hear your name being slandered and things being said that aren't true about you, but honestly, you've got to trust the justice system," Garrett said at the time of his release in 2023.
His life has not yet returned to normal, though.
Not only is Garrett homeless after selling his home and truck to pay for his trial, but his original murder charge still lives on his record, which he says has caused him to be turned down for many jobs. He even testified it led to a run-in with a Toledo police officer in April who saw his record during a routine traffic stop.
"The officer comes back and he says, 'OK hands behind your back.' And I'm letting him know, 'hey, this isn't the case. I don't have any felonies on my record.' But he's not listening to me, he throws me in the back, calls me a murderer. I'm crying for my mom, I'm crying for God, anyone that can help me," he said.
According to Garrett, after a few minutes, another officer came and released him.
Garrett's attorney, state Rep. Josh Williams, wants his record expunged and all case information destroyed so that kind of mistake can never happen again.
"They have reasonable suspicion because his record doesn't indicate he's not guilty," Williams said. "So, every time he has a run-in with law enforcement he faces the injustice of being handcuffed in front of the whole community."
But the state is pushing back against the expungement, wanting to wait at least five years before sealing Garrett's records.
The state doesn't want Garrett to be perceived as a murderer, though, "Only that he has and could again use a firearm in a violent manner for any reason," said prosecutor Angelina DeAnda-Wagner in court Monday morning.
Judge Michael Goulding made no judgment on the case Monday, and Williams said it could take at least another month or two before a decision is reached.
"I see that the system is broken, so I want to fix it," Williams (R-Sylvania Township) said.
The state representative is proposing a new bill to require that anytime a person is found not guilty via self-defense in the state, their record would be expunged.