L.A.

A federal judge has overturned the conviction of a man convicted of attempted murder in an East Los Angeles gang shooting. U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess found that Rafael Madrigal Jr.’s attorney failed to present evidence at trial that Madrigal was at work more than 30 miles away when the shooting took place. The Judge ruled that Madrigal should be retried within 60 days or released from prison, where he is currently serving a sentence of 53-years-to-life.

Madrigal was convicted after a July 5, 2000 shooting which occurred during a spate of Los Angeles gang crime. During this particular gun fight, which stemmed from a feud between two East L.A. gangs, one man sustained and survived a gunshot wound to the head—the shot that Madrigal was convicted of taking. The victim and a friend later identified Madrigal as the shooter from Sheriff’s Department photo lineups.