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The news release said police had seized 15 grams of straight powder fentanyl and said it had a street value of $7,000. A deputy police chief known for his fight against fentanyl was quick to tweet the “excellent work” by the department’s drug unit.

The police release also named Christie’s street. The statement was picked up widely across the country, and all of the news stories drew heavily from it. No news outlets — including the Citizen — had Christie’s side of the story.

“I was presumed guilty,” Christie told the Citizen.

His release was contested by federal prosecutors and Christie spent a week in jail before winning bail. He had never been in jail before, let alone the notorious Innes Road jail.

“It was horrible, the way you are treated,” Christie said.

Days after he got bail, he was evicted from his public housing unit on the grounds that he was selling fentanyl.

But here’s the thing — the lab tests finally came back, and it turns out that the powder seized by police wasn’t actually fentanyl.

The results came back as not a drug, and Christie says the powder, which was seized from his linen closet by the bathroom was actually face powder one of his girlfriends got from the food bank.

The police say lab results take time and their policy is to charge first if officers believe they’ve seized drugs, and analyze later, especially at a time when fentanyl is the most deadly drug on street.

Federal prosecutors have withdrawn the charges against Christie, who now feels vindicated.