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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Manslaughter |
Sentence: |
12 yrs |
Years Imprisoned: |
5 |
Year Crime: |
1996 |
Year Convicted: |
1996 |
Year Cleared: |
2001 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
California |
County or Region of Crime: |
Los Angeles |
City of Crime: |
Los Angeles |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Anthony Adams, Jesse Alvarez, Jorge Alvarez, Luis Davalos and Cesar Menendez were co-defendants wrongly convicted in 1996 of manslaughter in the February 6, 1996 shooting death of a drug dealer in Los Angeles, California. All five men were identified by an eyewitness. Although insisting they were innocent, all five pled no-contest to manslaughter and were sentenced to 12 years in prison to avoid a life sentence if convicted of murder after a trial. In the fall of 2000 the witness came forward and informed authorities she lied about the five men at the urging of Los Angeles Police Department officer Rafael Perez with whom she had been romantically involved at the time of the shooting. Perez' credibility had been undermined two years earlier based on credible allegations of corruption, including the framing of innocent people. Based on the new evidence of their innocence the five defendants filed a motion to withdraw their no-contest pleas and for a new trial. The motion was granted in August 2001 and the charges against the five were dismissed on September 24, 2001 with the approval of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. The five men then filed federal civil rights lawsuits against the City of Los Angeles. The city settled four of the cases in November 2004. Adams received $800,000, Menendez received $475,000, Davalos received $850,000, and Jorge Alvarez received $850,000. In January 2005 Jesse Alvarez settled with the city for $300,000." |
Conviction Caused By: |
"Perjury by the eyewitness at the urging of her romantic partner, LAPD Officer Rafael Perez." |
Innocence Proved By: |
"Based on the new evidence of their innocence the five defendants filed a motion to withdraw their no-contest pleas and for a new trial. The motion was granted in August 2001 and the charges against the five were dismissed on September 24, 2001 with the approval of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$850,000 (City of Los Angeles, Nov. 2004)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
17 |
Age When Released: |
22 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Hispanic |
Information Source 1: |
"5 to Be Freed After Witness Is Discredited: An ex-lover of disgraced Officer Rafael Perez had fingered the men in a killing. Prosecutors are unable to find evidence for a new trial, By Steve Berry (Times Staff Writer), Los Angeles Times, September 25, 2001" |
Information Location 1: |
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/sep/25/local/me-49598 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org