"A man charged with murdering Sophia Mason the 8-year-old Hayward girl whose gruesome death nearly four years ago highlighted numerous failings in Alameda County's child safety net accepted a plea deal earlier this month and was released from jail. Dhante Jackson was released from jail in Merced County on Oct. 6 after pleading guilty to an accessory charge in Sophia's death, his attorney and the Merced County District Attorney's Office confirmed this week."
"On Tuesday, Jackson's attorney criticized Merced County prosecutors and Merced's police force for their investigation and their alleged reliance on Johnson's statements, suggesting they just took her word for it. The attorney, Todd Melnik, claimed to have undertaken a painstaking investigation to prove Jackson's innocence on the murder charge, which included pulling license plate reader data and Bay Area toll records, while also putting Jackson through a polygraph test."
Dhante Jackson pleaded guilty to an accessory charge in the death of 8-year-old Sophia Mason and was released from Merced County jail on Oct. 6. Jackson had spent nearly three years in custody, a period his attorney says exceeded the maximum sentence for the offense to which he pleaded guilty by nearly two years. The resolution of Jackson's case leaves Samantha Johnson as the only person still facing murder and child abuse charges in the girl's death. Jackson's attorney, Todd Melnik, criticized Merced investigators for relying on Johnson's statements and described his own investigation using license plate reader data, toll records and a polygraph test.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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