There was an unexpected turn in the case of an over-convicted Fort Worth man in connection with a 1997 shooting.
Aaron Dyson, 42, was in court, looking to put a 25-year ordeal behind him - but that didn't happen.
"They offered me a plea deal of eight years for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony," Dyson said after Friday morning's proceedings, "and I declined it."
Dyson was originally convicted of engaging in organized criminal activity for the shooting of the man who killed his best friend and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Last year, after serving almost half that time, the conviction and sentence were vacated, after it was found that the testimony alleging that Dyson was a gang member was false.
"The state had an opportunity in 1997 to apply the appropriate charge and try me of that charge," Dyson said, "and they chose not to."
The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office says with no plea deal, the case will proceed through the regular court system.
"I did 24 years in prison for a crime I didn't commit," Dyson said. "I lost the rest of my teens, all my 20s, and all my 30s to imprisonment for a crime I did not commit."
A conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Regardless of the outcome, Dyson will not go back to prison, since he's already served more than the statutory maximum.
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