Prosecutor's admission frees Mark Weiner from jail

A man who supporters say was caught in a web of lies concocted by a stranger walked out of custody Tuesday after two and a half years, as an Albemarle County judge vacated the abduction conviction of Mark Weiner.

At the start of the 20-minute hearing, the 54-year-old former grocery store manager was wearing handcuffs and prison stripes. When it ended, he was set free.

"Innocence this day won out."

That was Richmond-based defense attorney Steven Benjamin who had previously introduced evidence undercutting a case which read like a pulp fiction novel. A man knocks out a woman with a chemical-soaked cloth, taunts her boyfriend with salacious text messages, and then flees without taking the phone or leaving any physical evidence.

While Benjamin won the case by getting the prosecutor to agree that she failed her duty to disclose evidence helpful to the defense, legalities took a backseat to joy for Flo Weiner, who steadfastly maintained her husband's innocence.

"I can't even put into words how happy I am."

For WCVE News, Hawes Spencer in Charlotesville.

Photo: Sister Marcia her husband Eric Cohen and brother Michael Weiner join defense attorney Steven Benjamin outside the Albemarle County Courthouse.