Los Angeles Gang Crime Case

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.

During the trial, Madrigal’s factory supervisor testified that he believed Madrigal had been at work—about 50 minutes from the crime scene—at the time of the gang crime, but could not be positive. Madrigal’s Los Angeles criminal defense attorney is accused of failing to call two other factory workers to the stand who would have been able to corroborate Madrigal’s alibi. He also failed to call his own client to testify, even though he said at the start of the trial that Madrigal would tell jurors who he believed had really committed the Los Angeles gang crime. The criminal defense attorney “repeatedly demonstrated the lack of diligence required for a vigorous defense," wrote U.S. Magistrate Marc Goldman.

In criminal prosecution, mistakes happen, and the wrong person can be arrested and charged. Madrigal may have been falsely accused of this Los Angeles gang crime, but had he been adequately represented, this miscarriage of justice could have been averted. A skilled Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can be the difference between clearing your name and a lifetime behind bars.

If you have been accused of a Los Angeles gang crime you did not commit, call the attorneys at Stephen G. Rodriguez & Associates today.  Our team of Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys have decades of experience in defending clients against all kinds of criminal charges, and they will be diligent, thorough and dedicated in defending you. Don’t risk your future by entrusting it to anyone but the most experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney.  Call Stephen G. Rodriguez & Associates today to begin preparing your defense.