BURLINGTON, N.C. - When Trey Bowden was handcuffed in the school office and told there were felony warrants for his arrest, the senior at Western Alamance High School knew he had done nothing wrong.

Bowden was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and financial card theft in connection with an April robbery and beating of a Burlington man.

"Once I got in the police car, they took me downtown," Bowden recalled Tuesday. "That ride was awful. On the way there, I saw people my mom knew."

According to Burlington police interviews, a person named Trey, with a different last name, was with several other men when they allegedly committed the robbery. Another interviewee suggested that a "Trey Bowden" was at the crime scene.

Still, Robin Bowden knew her son was innocent.

"I felt powerless. Nothing I could do to help him," she said. "My attorney insisted they do a photo lineup, and they did it, and Trey was not identified as one of the perpetrators. This guy did not know who my son was."

Police dropped the charges, but the fact that Bowden was charged at one time remains on his record. In order to clear his record, the Bowdens are now following a North Carolina law that allows for a one-time expungement.

"You prepare for groceries and bills, but you don't prepare to kick out thousands of dollars to right a wrong someone else did," said Robin Bowden.

The Bowdens are working with the Alamance County NAACP in order to clear Trey Bowden's name and get an apology from the Burlington Police Department. They'd also like local school officials to address how students are escorted off campus.

Burlington police said they are investigating Bowden's arrest and declined to comment on the incident.