Tracy Press

Irene Rhodes (right) holds a picture of her son, Sherman Townsend, who was jailed 10 years ago on what might be bogus testimony. Rhodes' daughter and son Jaoni Townsend and Paul Rhodes are also excited for Sherman's release. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press

Irene Rhodes thought she’d never see her son again.

The 87-year-old Tracy woman last saw Sherman Townsend, her third of nine children, in 1994, before she moved from Minneapolis to California — and several years before Townsend was sentenced to
20 years in a Minnesota prison for first-degree burglary.

This week, Rhodes got a glimmer of hope.

The man whose testimony sent 57-year-old Townsend to prison in 1998 told a judge Monday that he is guilty of the crime and that Townsend should be given a new trial.

District Judge Deborah Hedlund heard arguments from Townsend’s lawyers and an assistant Hennepin County attorney this week, and she has 60 days to issue a ruling.

The case stems from a home break-in on Aug. 10, 1997, in southeast Minneapolis. According to a woman who lived in the house, she and her boyfriend were asleep in an upstairs bedroom when a heavyset black man fell on top of them. Neither was injured, and the man dashed down the stairs and out of the house.

David Anthony Jones, a self-professed sexual predator who lived next door, originally told a court in 1998 that he had seen a man run out of the apartment. He later identified Townsend in a lineup.

Townsend was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison, in part because of his previous record.

Described by his family as a smart, soft-spoken man and loyal father of five, Townsend had his first run-in with the law at age 15, when he got started breaking into homes.

"It wasn’t about the money," said Joani Townsend, Sherman’s 60-year-old sister. "It was the thrill of being in someone else’s space."

His vice for burglary kept him in and out of prison most his life.

"If you want anything, you work for it," Rhodes often told her son. "His teachers always said, ‘Sherman can be anything he wants to be.’"

Even though Townsend had a long list of convictions, Rhodes said, he always admitted to his crimes.

"He’s fought this since the beginning," said Paul Rhodes, Townsend’s youngest brother.

Townsend even turned down a four-year plea bargain in the case.

Before he was convicted of the break-in, Rhodes said, he’d turned his life around. He worked for a printing company in Minneapolis and valued time with his children.

The recent revelation bolsters Townsend’s claim but doesn’t ease the sting of the time he spent behind bars.

"They can’t give back all these years of time with his kids," Rhodes said. "But at least my brother could be freed."

If Townsend is freed, Tracy will be one of his first stops.

"It’d be amazing to pick him up from the airport, and to see him again," Joani Townsend said.

The family expects to get a call from Sherman Townsend’s lawyer this week to hear whether he’ll get a second trial — and a second chance.