He said his name was Bela Fritz, he pleaded guilty to drug and weapons charges in a Salt Lake City courtroom and was sentenced to up to five years in prison.
But he wasn’t who he said he was. He was Fritz’ brother, Aaron. Utah’s justice system had the right man, but the wrong name.
On Friday, the Utah Supreme Court tried to untangle the mess. In a ruling, the justices sent the case back to the trial court with instructions to consider prosecutors’ motion to vacate the conviction.
Prosecutors want the conviction erased and they want a chance to refile the charges against Aaron Fritz.