Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Francisco Islas Jr.

 

Charge:

Drug Smuggling

Sentence:

90 days in jail and 3 yrs probation

Years Imprisoned:

0.25

Year Crime:

2009

Year Convicted:

2013

Year Cleared:

2013

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Arizona

County or Region of Crime:

Santa Cruz

City of Crime:

Nogales

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Francisco Islas, Jr. was wrongly convicted in Nogales, Arizona on January 14, 2013 of drug smuggling in 2009. Islas and two other City of Nogales street department employees were arrested on June 20, 2012 based on information provided to the Santa Cruz County Attorney's Office by Homeland Security. Facing many years in prison if he went to trial and lost, Islas pled guilty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years probation. After Islas served his 90 days in jail his conviction was vacated and the charges were dismissed in November 2013. The dismissal was with the agreement of the Santa Cruz County Attorney Liliana Ortega based on new evidence of the dishonesty of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who was involved in putting together the case against Islas and two other Nogales city employees. The agent didn't make a video available to the County Attorney's Office until August 2013, which directly contradicted statements the agent had made to the prosecutor's offfice and in his reports that were relied on to prosecute Islas and his two co-defendants."

Conviction Caused By:

Unreliable evidence by a dishonest federal agent.

Innocence Proved By:

After Islas served his 90 days in jail his conviction was vacated and the charges were dismissed in November 2013 with the agreement of the prosecutor based on new evidence of the dishonesty of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who was involved in putting together the case against Islas.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

43

Age When Released:

43

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Judge tosses conviction in Public Works drug case, By Jonathan Clark (staff), Nogales International, November 15, 2013"

Information Location 1:

http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/judge-tosses-conviction-in-public-works-drug-case/article_b7fb0018-4e10-11e3-b96e-001a4bcf887a.html

Information Source 2:

"Nogales prosecutors call out federal agent, By Tim Steller (staff writer), Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ), October 30, 2013"

Information Location 2:

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/column/steller-nogales-prosecutors-call-out-federal-agent/article_472113bc-53cc-5d87-8d09-5b0467888507.html

Information Source 3:

"3 City of Nogales employees arrested for drug dealing, By ADI News Services, Arizona Daily Independent, June 25, 2012"

Information Location 3:

http://www.arizonadailyindependent.com/2012/06/25/3-city-of-nogales-employees-arrested-for-drug-dealing/

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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