Photos, unpublished extras from Rafael Madrigal interview

Photographer John Valenzuela and I spent more than an hour Friday talking to Rafael Madrigal at his Ontario home. Whenever an interview lasts that long, pieces of it always get left out of the article because of space considerations. Here's some of that extra material.

For background, read Sunday's story. Brief summary: Madrigal spent nine years in custody before a judge threw out his attempted murder conviction, and he was released from prison last week.

The judge who overturned the conviction was highly critical of Madrigal's trial attorney, Andrew M. Stein, for failing to present evidence to sufficiently prove Madrigal's seemingly ironclad alibi.

Read the ruling that overturned Madrigal's conviction: 071509RafaelMadrigalRuling.pdf

Read the ruling that approved Madrigal's bail motion: 100109RafaelMadrigalBailGranted.pdf

But what about prosecutors and sheriff's detectives? I asked Madrigal if he thought they considered whether he was innocent.

"The sad part about it is all this time they had all this evidence," Madrigal said. "... Did they ever take the time to consider me being innocent? I don't think they did."

Madrigal has posted $120,000 bail and as part of his bail terms is wearing an electronic-monitoring braclet around his left ankle.

I asked him Friday whether he ever considered himself unlucky during his time in custody.

"I never based it on luck," Madrigal said. "You really can't say why this is happening to you, because there's no right answer for you."

...

Sunday's story:

Attempted murder conviction tossed after 9 years for Ontario man

Will Bigham, Staff Writer

Created: 10/10/2009 07:07:19 AM PDT

ONTARIO - Through more than nine years of incarceration, Rafael Madrigal never gave up hope he would prove his innocence and be freed.

On Tuesday, the 34-year-old was released from prison after a federal judge overturned his conviction for attempted murder and threw out his sentence of 53 years to life, citing ineffective assistance from Madrigal's trial attorney.

"Man, it's unbelievable," Madrigal said Friday at his Ontario home, where he was reunited last week with his mother, his wife and three children.

In an Oct. 1 order granting Madrigal's motion for bail, U.S. Magistrate Judge Marc L. Goldman emphasized that evidence in Madrigal's case indicates he was not involved in the East Los Angeles drive-by shooting that led to the charges.

"There is compelling evidence in this case that (Madrigal) is actually innocent of the crime for which he was convicted," Goldman wrote.

Madrigal was working at a Rancho Cucamonga factory at the time of the shooting in July 2000, in which one man was shot in the head but survived.

Madrigal said Friday that there were more than a dozen people who saw him at work at the time of the shooting who could have corroborated his alibi at his jury trial.

Yet his defense attorney, Andrew M. Stein, failed to call sufficient witnesses to prove Madrigal's alibi and failed to present additional evidence that indicated Madrigal's innocence, Goldman said in a recent ruling.

"Stein did not just botch one witness or one argument or one issue - he repeatedly demonstrated the lack of diligence required for a vigorous defense," Goldman wrote.

The state Attorney General's Office has said it will not appeal Goldman's ruling. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office will now have the option of retrying Madrigal's case.

"We are aware of the matter, and we have not made a decision at this time," said district attorney's spokeswoman Shiara Davila-Morales.

She said prosecutors will review the case and set a court hearing to announce their decision.

Since his release, Madrigal said he's been spending most of his time at home with his family. During short shopping excursions he said he marvels at how much the area has changed in nine years.

He went to a parent-teacher conference at his daughter's school Friday. He's looking forward to attending his son's wrestling match this week.

"Other than that, just really enjoying the house," said Madrigal, who was wearing a Dodgers shirt with centerfielder Matt Kemp's number on the back during Friday's interview.

"It's a good feeling having him home after nine years of seeing him through a glass window," said Madrigal's son, Andrew, a 15-year-old sophomore at Colony High School in Ontario.

Madrigal's mother, Juana Madrigal, said Friday she "feels very happy and content that her son is home," yet she also feels bad because of what her son has gone through.

At the time of Madrigal's arrest, he and his family had recently purchased a home in Mira Loma. He had two young sons, and his wife was two months' pregnant with their daughter, Madrigal said.

"Me and my wife had everything going for us," he said. "... Then one day to the next, it's gone."

About two weeks after the shooting, Madrigal was arrested at his home. Two witnesses identified the former East Los Angeles resident as the shooter in a photo lineup shown to them by sheriff's deputies.

Madrigal said the accusation was "devastating," but he was confident he would win his case because of the strength of his alibi.

The shooting took place in East Los Angeles shortly after 3 p.m. on July 5, 2000. Madrigal said he was at work in Rancho Cucamonga until 3:30 p.m. He even gave his brother - a co-worker - a ride home following their shift.

At his trial, Madrigal's attorney told a jury during opening statements that Madrigal would testify that he was at work at the time of the shooting and that three of his co-workers would corroborate his story.

But during the defense case, Stein called only one co-worker to testify and failed to put Madrigal on the witness stand.

He also failed to bring to the jury's attention a taped jailhouse conversation between Madrigal's co-defendant and the co-defendant's girlfriend that indicated Madrigal had nothing to do with the shooting.

According to Goldman's summary of the case, there's no indication Stein even listened to the conversation prior to Madrigal's trial.

After four days of deliberations, a jury found Madrigal guilty of attempted murder. Because of gang enhancements, he was sentenced to 53 years to life in prison.

Incarceration, Madrigal said, "was hard - those first six years were the hardest."

He lived for more than five years in two-man cells at prisons in Corcoran and Coalinga, earning $12 a month as a kitchen worker and yard crew worker.

Yet he said he never lost hope that he would win his release.

"That's one thing I would tell myself every day," Madrigal said. "I lose hope here, it's all over with."

His prospects for a successful appeal improved when his new attorney enlisted the assistance of attorneys at the California Innocence Project at California Western School of Law in San Diego.

Madrigal said he was unsure whether he would bring a civil action against Stein, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department or the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Stein did not return a call seeking comment Friday.

Madrigal said he had "not one bit" of anger over his incarceration.

"I don't think there's ever been any room to be angry," he said. "You have to leave that room for hope, to hope that the justice system is going to work for you."

Madrigal's family's joy over his release from prison has been tempered by a death in the family and the possible loss of their home.

Madrigal's father died in January. He was the family's primary breadwinner. With the loss of his income the family has been unable to keep up with payments on the home they've owned since 1995, Madrigal said.

Thursday night they were told they had two weeks to vacate, Madrigal said.

"The thing that hurts me the most about this house is that my dad put so much work into it," Madrigal said. "It's what he worked for day in and day out."