Man, woman home for holidays after wrongfully convicted in 2007 East Hollywood murder
LOS ANGELES (CNS) -
A man and woman who spent more than 17 years behind bars after being wrongfully convicted of a 2007 East Hollywood murder rejoiced Monday after their convictions were vacated and they were set free.
"It's some kind of Christmas miracle. And I'm just filled with gratitude that it really did happen to me," an emotional Charlotte Pleytez said during a Monday news conference at the Hall of Justice, where she was joined by Lombardo Palacios, who was also wrongfully convicted.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman -- who had appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Friday where Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan ordered their immediate release -- called it a "magical moment for justice."
Investigators picked up Pleytez and Palacios from the prisons where they were being held in Central California so they could attend the hearing and be released from custody before Christmas, Hochman told reporters Monday.
"I owe a heartfelt apology to you, Mr. Palacios, and to you, Ms. Pleitez, for what you've gone through, for the suffering you've endured," the district attorney told the two. "There's no words that can truly describe what you have gone through, but I'm here to tell you today you're here, you're amazing people, you're going to do amazing things in this world."
The district attorney vowed that "we will not rest until the true perpetrators of that murder are brought to justice," and said that his office will "learn from the lessons the best we can on this case to make sure we don't repeat any of the mistakes" and wind up with people who have been wrongly imprisoned.
The 37-year-old Pleytez, her voice cracking at times, expressed gratitude as she spoke at the news conference.
"I just want to say how truly happy I am and how blessed I am to be standing here free after 17 years spent in a life sentence in front of me for something I didn't do," she said.
"I am absolutely grateful and blessed that the wrongful conviction got corrected, and I don't want to take anything away from all the wonderful people who made the exoneration happen. You're all a blessing," Pleytez said. "I also think it would be wrong not to say that something went really wrong with the system, to cause a mistaken conviction like this."
She noted that she was two months pregnant when she was arrested, and that her daughter was celebrating her 17th birthday on Monday.
Pleytez said her own mother had to raise the girl and "be a mom, not a grandma."
"I missed being her mom. I love her so much," she said. "Now we are together."
Palacios, 33, also spoke at the news conference, introducing himself by saying, "I'm the guy who did 17 years in prison."
"These past few days have been the very best days of my life," he said. "I'm making up for everything ... it's been unreal. I still can't believe that I'm free. I'm the happiest man in the world."
Monday's announcement concluded a process that began under Hochman's predecessor, former District Attorney George Gascón.
In an announcement in October, Gascón cited what he called "coercive investigations" by law enforcement of Palacios, who was then 15 and insisted for nearly two hours that he was innocent before being falsely told there was a video showing he was the killer.
Palacios did not accurately describe what happened or what type of weapon was used because "he was never actually there," Gascón said then, noting that Pleytez steadfastly maintained her innocence while being interrogated by police.
At the time of Gascón's announcement, the judge did not immediately rule on the prosecution's request for exoneration because the prosecutor who handled the trial said he wanted to provide more information to the judge.
Tom Trainor, head of the District Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit, said during the brief October hearing that he felt "very confident" in the most recent analysis by the D.A.'s Office of the case.
But he noted that the trial prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Dayan Mathai, had "raised some concerns" and that he "should be given the opportunity to be heard."
Pleytez's attorney, Matthew Lombard, objected to what he called Mathai's "last-minute approach," and said there was "more than enough" to grant the petition to vacate the convictions of Pleytez and Palacios.
Hochman said he subsequently invited the trial attorney to join him when members of the office's Conviction Review Unit presented new evidence about the case, and that he "came to the same conclusion that I did -- that the conviction no longer had the confidence of this office and needed to be set aside."
The convictions stemmed from the death of Hector Luis Flores, who was shot about 10:20 p.m March 28, 2007, following a verbal altercation in a shopping-center parking lot in the 5200 block of Sunset Boulevard. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
According to Monday's announcement by Hochman, during the investigation, eyewitness identifications and other "circumstantial evidence" led to the arrests of Pleytez and Palacios.
A jury convicted the pair on Oct. 6, 2009 of first-degree murder, and each was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison -- convictions and sentences that were later affirmed on appeal.
Hochman's office said that the D.A.'s office was invited some 13 years after the convictions to work with lead attorney Ellen Eggers; Pleytez's attorney, Lombard; Palacios' attorney, Nicolas Tomas; and the California Innocence Advocates "to secure justice for both individuals."
Tomas -- Pleytez and Palacios' then-sole attorney -- submitted the initial request to the office's Conviction Review Unit (CRU) in November 2022.
"We are reluctant to say justice has been done, because the injustices our clients have suffered for nearly two decades are unfathomable, but this is definitely a cause for celebration," Lombard said in a statement released by Hochman's office.
Said Tomas: "Charlotte, Lombardo, their families, and the entire legal team are profoundly thankful to the Conviction Review Unit for having provided a platform to present this case and for working collaboratively to uncover the truths which ultimately set our clients free."
Meanwhile, Megan Baca of the California Innocence Advocates said the defense team was "heartened by DA Hochman's commitment to correcting wrongful convictions and his remarkable efforts to secure our clients' immediate release, enabling Charlotte and Lombardo to spend their first Christmas in 17 years home with their families, where they've always belonged."
The CRU and attorneys for Pleytez and Palacios had filed a joint petition to vacate the convictions and find Pleytez and Palacios factually innocent.
Hochman's office said Monday that a finding of factual innocence will be sought at a later date.
"The DA's Office asserts that, following a detailed review and analysis of the investigation and prosecution of the 2009 convictions, there is no evidence to suggest that any of the investigating officers, responding officers, or prosecutors involved in the case acted inappropriately, unethically, or illegally in performing their duties in the investigation and prosecution of this case given the applicable case law and state of the evidence at that time," Hochman said.
"The request for relief in this case was based entirely on new evidence uncovered by the joint CRU and defense investigation," the district attorney said.