( CNN ) -- A three-letter typo has slashed years off a prison sentence for a repeat drug offender in Ohio . Calvin Eugene Wells discovered a discrepancy on the verdict form for his conviction . Calvin Eugene Wells of Akron was sentenced in October 2005 to 10 years in prison after being convicted of possessing more than 100 grams of cocaine , a first-degree felony . Or so it seemed . While serving his time , Wells discovered a stray word on the verdict form signed by the jurors who convicted him in Summit County Common Pleas Court . The form , typed up by a court or prosecutor 's office employee , read : . `` We , the Jury , find the Defendant Guilty of the offense of POSSESSION OF CRACK COCAINE . `` We , the jury , further find that the amount of crack cocaine WAS in the amount exceeding ten one hundred ( 100 ) grams as charged in the indictment . '' See the document . The word `` ten '' in the second sentence is extraneous . Wells brought the error to a succession of attorneys ' attention , but no one managed to turn it to his advantage until Jason Desiderio was appointed to represent him . `` I have never seen anything like this in my life , where just attorney after attorney did nothing , '' Desiderio said . `` I think he had four appellate attorneys , and one appeal ... It 's a very , very bizarre case . '' Under Ohio law , for a person to be found guilty of a higher-level felony , the jury form must state either the degree of the offense or the circumstances that would make it a higher offense . The form 's second sentence apparently was an attempt to state those circumstances , but the stray word muddled the meaning , Desiderio said . A three-judge panel of the Ohio Court of Appeals unanimously agreed . `` The form is unclear , and we can not determine what the jury understood 'ten one hundred ( 100 ) grams ' to mean , '' Judge Eve Belfance wrote in the court 's decision . `` It certainly could have meant an amount exceeding one hundred grams , but it is possible the jury believed the form actually meant an amount exceeding less than one gram . '' Read the whole opinion . The uncertainty meant Wells could be convicted of nothing more than a fifth-degree felony , the judges ruled . The maximum sentence for a fifth-degree felony is one year , and Wells already had served four . Game over . But not quite . It seems Wells is wanted in Morris County , New Jersey , on a November 2000 sheriff 's warrant for violating his probation for drug and weapons convictions . The sheriff is seeking extradition , spokeswoman Staci Santucci said . It 's unlikely he 'll be able to avoid it , said Desiderio , who will not be able to represent Wells because he 's not licensed in New Jersey . The original judge in the Ohio case , James R. Williams , is retired . The Summit County prosecutor 's office did not return calls seeking comment on Wells ' case . `` At the end of the day , he was convicted , and I understand that some people are going to feel upset that he 's essentially out six years earlier than anyone anticipated , '' Desiderio said . `` But in our system , we give the benefit of the doubt to the defendant , and we do that for good reason . And in here there 's a statutory mandate to ensure that we know what we 're convicting people of and we know why we 're doing it . And that mandate was n't met . ''
Error on verdict ##s casts doubt on jurors ' intent , per state court rules . This means that Wells must serve just one year , not 10 . Legal issue elsewhere would have him returning to New Jersey .