After being wrongfully imprisoned for 30 years for the shooting death of a teenager, a Los Angeles man is getting his name cleared.
On Friday, April 18, a judge found Humberto “Beto” Duran, 51, factually innocent of a 1993 East L.A. gang murder.
“I never thought this would happen because it’s easy to get locked up, and it’s hard to get out,” Duran told KTLA’s Angeli Kakade. “After so many years, 32 exactly, to hear from the judge that I’m actually innocent, it’s been amazing.”
Nearly three decades ago, Duran was convicted of killing 17-year-old Albert Gonzalez based on a single eyewitness testimony. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
At the time of Gonzalez’s murder, Duran was just 19 years old.
According to a report by the L.A. Times, Duran had known Gonzalez growing up. “I was surprised,” Duran told the Times. “I wasn’t even aware that he had any problems with anybody as to why they would go kill him.”
Duran’s lawyer purportedly told the Times that Duran was framed for Gonzalez’s murder.
“A detective told me you ain’t never getting out and I looked at him and I had a smirk and I said we’ll see who has the last laugh,” Duran told KTLA. “I will never forget those words.”
Duran and his family, who never lost faith, spent years reaching out to various innocence projects.
Then, in 2018, a woman named Megan Baca, who is now the director of California Innocence Advocates, reached out to Duran and ultimately started him on his path to parole in 2022.
With Baca’s help, the single eyewitness ended up recanting her testimony, and Duran’s case was vacated in 2024.
The L.A. Times reported that the eyewitness, who was 17 at the time, said that deputies had insisted she name Duran as the killer.
“I know Beto is innocent,” the Times reported she wrote in a sworn declaration in 2021. “My role in sending an innocent man to prison has haunted me for the past 27 years.”
Duran told KTLA that he believes the system is broken.
“I was gonna go to the Marines and become a parole agent, and that dream was taken away from me,” said Duran.
Duran’s attorney, Jarrett Adams, said he’s thankful to DA Nathan Hochman for making the right decision.
“I got to hug Mr. Duran, I got to shake the hands of everyone in his family who was there,” said Hochman. “It was a great day, obviously for Mr. Duran, but it was also a great day for justice.”
Duran said that now, he’s focused on the future.
“I wanna start working in electrical and do my own company and push forward,” said Duran. “I want to enjoy life, I think I deserve that.”
Duran’s civil case is still pending, and he will find out on July 17 how much he could be compensated for his time spent behind bars.
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