Innocent men exonerated of Downey murder after serving nearly 24 years

Two defendants in a murder case were exonerated Wednesday and declared factually innocent after serving nearly 24 years for a murder in Downey they did not commit.

Ronald Velasquez Jr. and Abraham Villalobos were convicted in 2020 of a fatal shooting at an apartment complex in Downey. Villalobos was granted parole in 2015 but was deported to Mexico because of his conviction.

Velasquez unsuccessfully sought relief through the courts for many years. He then turned to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, which independently reviews claims of innocence regardless of court determinations, his attorney, John Hanusz, said.

Dana Orent, a private investigator who investigated the case pro-bono for 20 years, brought Hanusz into the case about a year and a half ago. Orent’s work made clear that Velasquez was innocent, Hanusz said.

“I flew up to Solano, where he was incarcerated. After meeting with the client, it was clear to me that he was innocent,” Hanusz said.

“Problematic eyewitness identification that unraveled over the years, along with additional evidence of third-party culpability” helped set Velasquez free.

“The guy who did it confessed to his uncle. He was murdered a year and a half after the homicide,” Hanusz said. “The Conviction Integrity Unit looked at the case closely, skeptically, and they were convinced just as we were.”

Loyola Law School’s Project for the Innocent represented Abraham Villalobos. Executive Director Joe Triglio said the passage of time complicates cases such as Villalobos’. Collaboration with the DA helped solve some of the problems, he said.

“We’re grateful for the work of the Conviction Integrity Unit. It’s not something that we take for granted,” Triglio said.

Their next step, Triglio said, is to reverse Villalobos’ deportation.