Oct 28, 2008 7:08 pm US/Pacific
Man Cleared Of Murder After 10 Years In Prison
LOS ANGELES
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After 12 years of legal wrangling, including 10 and-a-half years spent in prison, Mario Rocha is a free man.
CBS
A judge Tuesday dismissed a murder charge against a man who served more than 10 years in prison while his case bounced around various courts including an overturned conviction more than 3 years ago.
Prosecutors saying they were unable to proceed with a new case prompting the Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor to drop the murder charge against Mario Rocha, now 29.
"In terms of evaluating the evidence, we looked at what we were left with more than 10 years later," Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace said of
the case against Rocha.
The prosecutor said it was felt that "they didn't have all the pieces
we need to prosecute."
Defense attorney Michael Adelson, who along with Joseph Gutierrez represented Rocha, said, "It's such a relief because we know that innocent people are sometimes convicted. It happened in Mario's case."
Rocha had been charged with murder in the Feb. 16, 1996, shooting
death of 17-year-old honors student Martin Aceves, along with the attempted murder of another teen at a party in Highland Park.
Rocha, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, was found guilty along
with two others and served 10 1/2 years behind bars.
A panel from the state's 2nd District Court of Appeal set aside his conviction in December 2005.
That panel believed Rocha's trial attorney provided ineffective counsel. They ruled the lawyer made only cursory efforts, if any, to locate most witnesses and spent very little documented time in preparation of the case.
Rocha was released from custody on bail in August 2006.
A year later, he wrote on his blog, "Cocooned in the cage of justice
for ten and (a) half years, from age 16 to 27, I emerged like the monarch
butterflies in August, when they began their southward journey to the place where the warrior spirits rest."
Rocha's new attorney credited work done by two private investigators, saying they helped to locate several eyewitnesses who saw the gunman and said it wasn't Rocha.
"There's really no question in my mind that he's innocent," Adelson said, adding that his client has "done a lot with his life" and wants to go on to college and law school.
"It's finally over. It's been about half of his life. It's been a long road," Rocha's attorney said.
Robert Long, a retired partner with Latham & Watkins who represented Rocha during the appellate court proceedings, said he originally learned about the case from Sister Janet Harris, a Catholic nun who met Rocha while he was in juvenile hall and who urged Long's law firm to take the case pro bono.
"We have a tremendous amount invested in this, emotionally, professionally and every which way," said Long, who was in court for the
hearing. "I wouldn't have missed this."
He said the case "will stay with me forever. It's far out of the ordinary."
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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