$450K Awarded to Teen Jailed for Three Months

A man in the hospital when a robbery happened – but was incarcerated for three months until charges were dropped – was been awarded nearly half a million dollars in damages.

A Prince George’s County jury awarded Bernell Ambris, who was 15 at the time of the allegations, $450,000 in a civil trial, reports The Daily Record of Baltimore.

Ambris was hospitalized for sickle cell anemia treatment in April 2009 when a pizza delivery worker was robbed.

Ambris’ attorney, Cary Hansel, said his client’s rights were violated by the charge and incarceration, with no evidence linking the boy to the crime.

Hospital discharge papers showed when Ambris was released, but he was charged by police anyway. Officers searched his home, but failed to find the gun used in the robbery or the cash stolen.

Ambris was jailed for three months before a judge dismissed the charges for lack of evidence.