Bexar man exonerated in 2009 assault case
A Bexar County man who pleaded guilty more than 10 years ago to assaulting his boyfriend has been exonerated after his accuser recanted and witnesses confirmed there was no attack.
The exoneration in March of Mikhail Timofeyev, a chef from Russia and a lawful permanent resident of the United States, cleared the way for him to seek U.S. citizenship, officials said Wednesday.
The Conviction Integrity Unit in the Bexar County District Attorney's Office moved to dismiss the case in September and a court has agreed, the office said in a press release.
District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales said the more than decade-old case had “long-lasting effects” on Timofeyev, who pleaded guilty to a crime he knew he did not commit and spent time in jail.
“Many do not understand how someone could admit guilt when they are innocent, but it does happen,” Gonzales said in a statement. “When these claims are made to our Conviction Integrity Unit, we work to find the truth and do what is right.”
Timofeyev was 34 when he was accused of punching his boyfriend on April 28, 2009. Details posted on the National Registry of Exonerations states that a 46year-old man reported to authorities that his boyfriend, identified as Timofeyev, punched him after he refused to give Timofeyev money for drugs.
Timofeyev pleaded guilty Aug. 17, 2010, to famiviolence assault in County Court-at-law No. 7 and was sentenced to probation, but it was revoked a month later and he was sentenced to 54 days in jail.
Ten years later, Timofeyev's attorney, Rose Zebell, asked the DA'S Office to re-examine the case because the accuser had recanted.
In 2016, Timofeyev and his accuser married, but letters sent to the court recanting the accusation were not forwarded to prosecutors, officials said. The Conviction Integrity Unit reviewed the case last year and agreed to vacate the conviction, partly because there was no corroborating evidence of an assault.
Matthew Howard, CIU director, said the case “stands as a reminder that it is nevly er too late to do the right thing.”
Timofeyev's case is the latest from Bexar County added to the registry. The NRE'S 2020 report includes four exonerations from Bexar County. The complete report can be found online.