DALLAS (AP) - The Latest on Dallas prosecutors seeking release of man they say was wrongfully convicted (all times local):
1:45 p.m.
A 38-year-old man incarcerated for the past 15 years for killing a teenager is free from prison after a judge in Dallas agreed with prosecutors that he’s actually innocent of the crime.
Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said Quintin Lee Alonzo was freed Wednesday after the judge agreed with a petition from prosecutors declaring him innocent in the 2001 death of Santos Gauna. The teen was killed when a fight broke out at a party celebrating his high school graduation.
The matter now goes to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for a final determination.
Officials say an “exhaustive investigation” has corroborated a confession given by Licho Escamilla, who was executed in 2015 for the shooting death of an off-duty Dallas police officer.
Johnson’s conviction integrity unit began investigating the matter in 2015, when Escamilla confessed to unit investigators the day before his execution.
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11 a.m.
Dallas County prosecutors are seeking the exoneration of a 38-year-old man sentenced to life in prison in 2003 for the shooting death of a teenager who was celebrating his high school graduation.
Authorities said in a statement that prosecutors will ask a judge Wednesday to declare Quintin Lee Alonzo innocent in the 2001 death of Santos Gauna.
Officials say an “exhaustive investigation” has corroborated a confession given by Licho Escamilla, who was executed in 2015 for the shooting death of an off-duty Dallas police officer.
Authorities say Escamilla confessed to killing Gauna prior to his 2002 conviction in the officer’s death. They say Escamilla also confessed on at least two other occasions.
It’s not clear why it took so long for prosecutors to seek Alonzo’s exoneration. Additional information was scheduled to be released later Wednesday.
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