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Speaker 1: In July nineteen ninety one in North Philadelphia, two drug

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Speaker 1: houses on the same street were futing and two young

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Speaker 1: men were fatally shot. According to witnesses, the assailants were

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Speaker 1: known as Chuito and Papadito, but arrest warrants were issued

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Speaker 1: for two men who did not go by those names,

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Speaker 1: Falo Garcia and Pedro Renoso. Moreover, Pedro Renoso had been

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Speaker 1: in the Dominican Republic since ten days before the shooting,

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Speaker 1: yet upon his return to the US nearly three years later,

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Speaker 1: he was arrested, tried, and convicted with the help of

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Speaker 1: two witnesses who were willing to testify that Pedro was

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Speaker 1: Popadito and fellow Garcia was some guy named Marciano. So

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Speaker 1: where's Chuito not serving life in prison? This is wramful Conviction.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to Wrongful Conviction. You can listen to this

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Speaker 1: and all the Lava for Good podcasts one week early

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Speaker 1: and ad free by subscribing to Lava for Good Plus

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Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts. Welcome back to Wrongful Conviction, where we've

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Speaker 1: got a Philadelphia story that literally makes me insane. This

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Speaker 1: story involves a man named Pedro Renoso from the Dominican Republic,

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Speaker 1: and it's a story that we began covering with now,

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Speaker 1: this back before the pandemic, and in fact, some of

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Speaker 1: this audio represents the last in person interviews we did

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Speaker 1: in March twenty twenty. So joining us now is Pedro's attorney,

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Speaker 1: Craig Cooley. Craig, welcome.

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Speaker 2: I appreciate you've talked about Paedro's case. It's truth or

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Speaker 2: shadury and fiction, and this is a case that exemplifies

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Speaker 2: that point.

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Speaker 1: It really does. This murder occurred in Philadelphia while Pedro

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Speaker 1: was undeniably in the Dominican Republic. Again, all of this

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Speaker 1: while police were actually aware of the real killer. But

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Speaker 1: somehow Pedro, still all these years later, is calling in

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Speaker 1: from a Pennsylvania correctional facility and at Pedro, thank you

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Speaker 1: for calling in.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, Ay, I appreciate you.

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Speaker 2: Man.

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Speaker 1: So Pedro chose to speak in Spanish for our interviews,

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Speaker 1: so our workaround was to have his wife Evelyn translate

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Speaker 1: and our producer Connor Hall recorded the translation in English. Unfortunately,

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Speaker 1: the live translation process shortened what was already a tight

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Speaker 1: time slot, so we focused on the heavier stuff with

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Speaker 1: Pedro and had to lean on Craig a little bit

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Speaker 1: to hear how Pedro's story began.

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Speaker 2: I was born in the Dominican Republic in the late

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Speaker 2: seventies early eighties. He came to the US with the

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Speaker 2: intent of gaining citizenship, and by nineteen ninety one he

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Speaker 2: had obtained a temporary visa. Based on my conversations with

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Speaker 2: him and other family members, he was doing odd jobs

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Speaker 2: and doing something at the quote unquote drug house on

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Speaker 2: Darien Street.

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Speaker 1: Pedro worked at thirty forty two North Darien Street, which

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Speaker 1: was owned by a heavy set Dominican guy named Desio,

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Speaker 1: and he ran the spot with Rafael Bidal aka Tuito,

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Speaker 1: and that house was involved in an ongoing dispute with

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Speaker 1: the drug house across the street at thirty forty five

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Speaker 1: North Darien, which was operated by a Puerto Rican family, Juanino,

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Speaker 1: his wife Marisol Torres Cologne, whose brother, by the way,

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Speaker 1: was one of the victims, Carlos Torres, followed by seventeen

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Speaker 1: year old Charles Rivera.

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Speaker 3: I knew Carlos Torres for about a week, but I

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Speaker 3: have no idea who the other person was.

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Speaker 1: I never knew the other person, but before this dispute

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Speaker 1: came to that terrible end. Pedro's family back in the

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Speaker 1: Dominican Republic requested that he and his newborn son, Juan Alexander,

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Speaker 1: returned to the dr and they arrived on July thirteenth,

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Speaker 1: nineteen ninety one, ten full days before the crime.

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Speaker 3: I went to visit my mother, who was sick, very sick,

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Speaker 3: and I stayed there until she died in nineteen ninety three.

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Speaker 1: In nineteen ninety.

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Speaker 3: Four, I had tried to come back, and that's when

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Speaker 3: I ran into this.

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Speaker 1: So this being the aftermath of the inter drug House dispute,

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Speaker 1: and there's evidence in the homicide files or h files

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Speaker 1: that Craig Coolly obtained since twenty nineteen that the police

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Speaker 1: were well aware of this dispute, particularly from an interview

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Speaker 1: with a man named Marcus James.

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Speaker 2: James explained how he had gone to the Dominican drug

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Speaker 2: House on July twentieth, nineteen ninety one, to purchase cocaine.

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Speaker 2: While at the drug house, James encountered this heavyset Dominican

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Speaker 2: who quote ran the drug operation end quote. James didn't

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Speaker 2: know this Dominican's name, but said, quote you can't miss

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Speaker 2: him end quote, because this Dominican weigh between two hundred

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Speaker 2: and fifty and three hundred pounds. James Moever said, this

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Speaker 2: Dominican asked him, James, if he'd seen Charles Rivier I e.

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Speaker 2: The Puerto Rican because Rivier owed him ten thousand dollars.

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Speaker 2: This witness is telling the cops like, this is what happened.

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Speaker 2: There was a hit placed on Riviera because he supposedly

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Speaker 2: ripped off ten grand and cast and drugs. JES file

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Speaker 2: and the DA file both contained evidence that Carlos Torres

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Speaker 2: and his brother in law Juan Andino, had also stolen

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Speaker 2: drugs from the Dominican right on and married to Marisol.

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Speaker 2: Both files also contained evidence that Charles Rivere, Carlos Torres,

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Speaker 2: andjan Andeno had an ongoing dispute with the Dominicans and

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Speaker 2: that they shot at the Dominicans, particularly Tweto, in the

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Speaker 2: days leading up to this shooting. So there's this back

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Speaker 2: and forth.

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Speaker 1: In fact, both Juan Andino and Marisol Torres Cologne told

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Speaker 1: the police about run ins that they'd had with Twito

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Speaker 1: earlier on the day of the shooting, and Dino said

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Speaker 1: he was hiding in an abandoned house for the cops

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Speaker 1: and Chuito forced him to turn himself in with a

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Speaker 1: three fifty seven magnum and then Chuito came to thirty

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Speaker 1: forty five North area looking for Carlos Torres and his

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Speaker 1: sister Marisol. Didn't get a chance to warn him before

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Speaker 1: he and Charles Rivera were killed just around the corner

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Speaker 1: at around one fifteen pm on July twenty third of

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Speaker 1: nineteen ninety one. And we're going to give you the

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Speaker 1: details of the shooting from the point of view of

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Speaker 1: both the state's star trial witnesses, all right, Sarah Robinson

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Speaker 1: and Sam Wilkerson, as testified to either in post conviction

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Speaker 1: hearings or in front of the Philadelphia Conviction Integrity Units.

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Speaker 1: So let's start with Wilkerson, who saw this from the

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Speaker 1: angle of the victims.

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Speaker 2: Wilkerson said Carlos Torres stopped his Toyota on the corner

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Speaker 2: where Wilkerson and others were standing. Charles Riviera was in

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Speaker 2: the front passenger seat. Tours complained about the Dominicans, particularly Tweeto,

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Speaker 2: because Tweto had routed out Torres's brother in law Juan

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Speaker 2: and Dino earlier that morning, which allowed the police department

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Speaker 2: to confiscate many of Jan's guns.

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Speaker 1: Now, Robinson and who was across from Wilkerson, Torres, and Rivera,

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Speaker 1: saw Tweto come onto the scene.

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Speaker 2: Robinson said. At the time of double murder, Robinson was

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Speaker 2: selling fake bags of marijuana on the corner of Ninth

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Speaker 2: Street and Clearfield Street. While in the corner, a car

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Speaker 2: pulled up alongside her with two brown skinned men in

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Speaker 2: the front seat. She approached the car and offered to

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Speaker 2: sell them fake marijuana, but when she saw Tweedo driving,

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Speaker 2: she backed up and said, quote, oh it's you, end

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Speaker 2: quote and didn't try selling Tweeto anything. She recognized the

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Speaker 2: other car occupant as one of the Dominican drug dealers

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Speaker 2: from the Darren Street house, but didn't know his name.

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Speaker 2: She was certain though it wasn't Pedro Renoso.

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Speaker 1: The witnesses described the assailants as clean shaven, while Pedro

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Speaker 1: had a thick mustache at the time.

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Speaker 2: Robinson then saw Tweedo's car pulled up alongside Carlos Torres' car,

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Speaker 2: which wasn't far from where she was standing. She saw

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Speaker 2: Tweedo open fire into Carlos Torres' car, killing Charles Rivieria,

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Speaker 2: who was the front passenger seat an Torros, Sam Wilkerson

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Speaker 2: and Sarah robinsonknewhim Tweeto. I don't know if they knew

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Speaker 2: his real his actual name, but you know, the Dominicans

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Speaker 2: who lived in that area from our investigation knew his

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Speaker 2: first name, Rafael Vido. Everybody refers to him as Tweeto, though.

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Speaker 1: And Marisol Cologne was still hoping at this point to

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Speaker 1: warn her brother about Tweto. When her children came running

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Speaker 1: down the street screaming that something had happened to their uncle.

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Speaker 1: She ran to Clearfield the ninth, saw that Rivera was

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Speaker 1: already dead, and tried to push her brother back into

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Speaker 1: the car to drive him to the hospital. Instead, the

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Speaker 1: police took both men to Temple University Hospital, where they

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Speaker 1: were pronounced dead. And according to a twenty eleven Alfi

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Speaker 1: David and a twenty eighteenth Philadelphia Inquirer interview, when Marisol

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Speaker 1: returned from the hospital to thirty forty five North Areyan,

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Speaker 1: Tweito was there waiting for her.

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Speaker 2: At some point she had this confrontation with Tweeto, and

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Speaker 2: it was at this point when Tweto confessed, I think

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Speaker 2: it's the best word to use to being the guy

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Speaker 2: committed to the double murdered. And she's adamant that she

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Speaker 2: told the detectives like, it's Tweeto and he told me

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Speaker 2: and now on certain terms, that I did you a

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Speaker 2: favor by killing your brother, and.

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Speaker 1: Marisau replied, quote, you better kill me too, because I'm

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Speaker 1: going to make sure that you're locked up end quote

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Speaker 1: to which he replied whatever as he left. So it

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Speaker 1: appears that Yuito knew somehow that he'd get away with this.

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Speaker 1: Perhaps he had a special relationship with the police. I mean,

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Speaker 1: after all, he was named in the initial homicide summary

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Speaker 1: along with a man named Papadito. But as the police

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Speaker 1: began compiling a list of names associated with the Dominican

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Speaker 1: drug house, which included Pedro and his co defended fellow Garcia,

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Speaker 1: they obtained arrest warrants, none of which were for Rafael Vidal,

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Speaker 1: as documented in this homicide summary that was buried until

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Speaker 1: twenty nineteen.

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Speaker 2: So there's a paragraph that basically says on July twenty third,

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Speaker 2: nine ninety one, they describe what hap and the next

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Speaker 2: sentence it says, quote as a result of investigation two

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Speaker 2: males who identified as Tweeto and Popadito, where a person's

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Speaker 2: responsible for the murders of the two males, and it says,

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Speaker 2: warrants of arrests were issued and Falo Garcia was arrested

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Speaker 2: on July twenty seventh, ninety one. Okay, now, the third

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Speaker 2: sentence says, a male identified as Popadito is presently listed

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Speaker 2: as a fusitives but Falo everybody knew Falo Garcia wasn't

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Speaker 2: tweet him. And more importantly, if you want to divert

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Speaker 2: attention away from tweet him, and you're going through that

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Speaker 2: list and you're like, okay, where's Pedro and somebody says, oh,

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Speaker 2: he left the country, I mean there it is.

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Speaker 1: This episode of Wrongful Conviction is proudly sponsored by Erase PTSD.

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Speaker 1: ways to get involved. Pedro Renoso left the US on

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Speaker 1: July thirteenth, nineteen ninety one, ten days before the crime,

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Speaker 1: and Pedro believes that Tuito may have even stoked interest

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Speaker 1: in him.

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Speaker 3: It could have been that Tchuito I knew him. We

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Speaker 3: didn't have a good relationship at the time, since I

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Speaker 3: was in Santa Domingo. They did it as a cover

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Speaker 3: up and distorted the end investigation of the case. That's

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Speaker 3: what I think.

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Speaker 1: Initially, the name Tuto was assigned to fellow Garcia, and

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Speaker 1: Pedro was identified as Papadito by Sarah Robinson, who explained

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Speaker 1: herself in twenty twenty one to the Philadelphia CiU.

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Speaker 2: Roberson said she had a pre existing relationship with these detectives.

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Speaker 2: They often provided her with money and other rewards, such

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Speaker 2: as drugs confiscated from others. They dropped these items from

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Speaker 2: their car and leave them for her to pick up.

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Speaker 2: In return for these rewards, Robinson signed whatever statements they

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Speaker 2: asked her to sign in different cases. She said this

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Speaker 2: is what she did in Pedro's case. At the time

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Speaker 2: back in nineteen ninety one, she felt no remorse for

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Speaker 2: false identifying Pedro because she didn't like him very much

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Speaker 2: and she was more concerned with her own well being.

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Speaker 2: Robertson said to these detectives she didn't know their real names.

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Speaker 2: She recognized them as either Tom and Jerry or Sarge.

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Speaker 1: Sarge. Our listeners may recall from our coverage of Manford

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Speaker 1: Younger's case that Sarge is actually Detective Martin Devlin's nickname

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Speaker 1: and his partner, Chuck Bentham, had retired from Philly to

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Speaker 1: work for Camden County by the time of Manford Younger's

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Speaker 1: two thousand and seven case, But back in nineteen ninety one,

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Speaker 1: Chuck Bentham was the guy signing most of the Philadelphia

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Speaker 1: police reports in Pedro's case, so their presence might explain

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Speaker 1: how the initial homicide summary naming Tuito was buried while

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Speaker 1: the suspects nicknames morphed. Initially, Falo was Tuito and Papadito

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Speaker 1: was a fugitive, but that's not what it says on

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Speaker 1: Palo's arrest report.

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Speaker 2: If you go through yhfoul, they identify Falo as Papadido

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Speaker 2: on his arrest report, and then there's a second document

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Speaker 2: in the hvoule. It's the municipal court hearing list. Again

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Speaker 2: it lists his name and there's an alias section it

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Speaker 2: says Papadido. And again those documents, from our understanding, were

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Speaker 2: not provided to Trow Council. And then Falo Garcia's attorney,

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Speaker 2: Trow Council brought a photograph of Pedro to the police department.

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Speaker 2: And then once they had this photograph like this is Papadido.

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Speaker 1: Which perhaps they were trying to clear flow from this case,

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Speaker 1: but instead Chuwito was dropped from suspicion altogether. Pedro was

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Speaker 1: once again assigned the role of the fugitive Papadito, and

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Speaker 1: fellow Garcia was dubbed the previously unmentioned Marciano, and Bentham

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Speaker 1: and Devlin had their regular informant, Sarah Robinson, support this

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Speaker 1: twisted narrative.

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Speaker 2: Sarah Robinson. She says that she saw AKA Pedro at

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Speaker 2: the drug house on the morning of July twenty sixth,

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Speaker 2: nineteen ninety one, and she says that once they're at

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Speaker 2: the drug house, they stay there all day, right, so

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Speaker 2: like around nine o'clock. So if you take her word

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Speaker 2: of what she's saying in her statement. Pedro was in

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Speaker 2: Philly on July twenty sixth, nineteen ninety one, all day,

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Speaker 2: and that's significant because what happens the next.

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Speaker 1: Day, on September twenty seven. Pedro's son was baptized in

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Speaker 1: the Dominican Republic, which posed a great deal of issues

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Speaker 1: for that narrative, like alibi witnesses including a priest, as

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Speaker 1: well as photographs of the event. Now, Pedro also had

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Speaker 1: purchased property in the Dominican Republic around the twentieth leaving

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Speaker 1: a very narrow window in which he could have possibly

257
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Speaker 1: snuck back into the US and snuck back out completely undetected. Nevertheless,

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Speaker 1: the state was locked in with Sarah Robinson's statement, which

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Speaker 1: we'd later found out really bothered Sam Wilkerson.

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Speaker 2: Wilkerson explained how two detectives had detained him and took

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Speaker 2: him to homicide on July thirtieth because he confronted Sarah

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Speaker 2: Robinson on the street as he spoke with two detectives

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Speaker 2: about the fact she'd falsely identified Papaddo as the gunman

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Speaker 2: once a homicide. The detectives not only threatened to charge

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Speaker 2: him with obstructing justice, but they also handcuffed him to

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Speaker 2: a chair, beat him through eminem's at him and didn't

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Speaker 2: give him water. Now the eminem in fact, he threw

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Speaker 2: in the M and m's like, that's a fact that

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Speaker 2: this actually happened, because I would Why would I make

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Speaker 2: that up. When Wilkerson woke up the next morning, July

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Speaker 2: thirty first, he was still handcuffed to the chair. Read

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Speaker 2: the ham written statement. It contained the narrative that ultimately

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Speaker 2: appeared in the July thirty first, nineteen ninety one homicide statement.

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Speaker 1: So now Robinson and Wilkerson were singing the same tune,

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Speaker 1: and fellow Garcia was taken to trial.

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Speaker 3: He had a different trial in nineteen ninety two. He's convicted.

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Speaker 3: Falo was convicted.

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Speaker 1: Oh, he was convicted too, So he's another innocent man

279
00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:33,920
Speaker 1: in prisonment. Correct. Meanwhile, Pedro was unaware of how perilous

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Speaker 1: his eventual return to the US might be, as he

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00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,000
Speaker 1: took care of his ailing mother and met a new

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Speaker 1: woman in.

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00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,560
Speaker 3: The DR while I was in Santo Domingo. She ended

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Speaker 3: up pregnant and I had a daughter with her in

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Speaker 3: Santo Domingo for me, And there's a big deal to

286
00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:50,479
Speaker 3: leave my small son and daughter over there without knowing.

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Speaker 1: What was waiting for me here. So after his mother

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Speaker 1: passed in late nineteen ninety three, he tied up some

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00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,840
Speaker 1: loose ends and planned a return flight to the US.

290
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Speaker 1: But staying outside of the US from nineteen ninety one

291
00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,879
Speaker 1: to ninety four violated the terms of his temporary visa

292
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Speaker 1: because he was only supposed to have left for two

293
00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:09,639
Speaker 1: or three weeks at the time, not two or three years.

294
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,360
Speaker 2: So March ninety four he goes to the airport and

295
00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:15,600
Speaker 2: he has an initial ticket, but the American Airlines folks

296
00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,679
Speaker 2: are like, no, you don't have the appropriate documents, like

297
00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:20,919
Speaker 2: you've been here for three years, so they wouldn't let

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00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,560
Speaker 2: him board. So, according to Pedro, there were people in

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Speaker 2: the DR who knew the immigration policy of the US,

300
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Speaker 2: and they knew there were many Dominicans who had this

301
00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:35,719
Speaker 2: temporary visa. So there are people at the airport in

302
00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:40,160
Speaker 2: the DR that would make money by fabricating passport stamps,

303
00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,359
Speaker 2: and so Pedro, according to what he's told us, is

304
00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:47,080
Speaker 2: he met this person at the airport and Pedro tells

305
00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:49,720
Speaker 2: him like, yes, you know, I've been here since July thirteenth,

306
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Speaker 2: nineteen ninety one. Now it's March twenty third or twenty fourth,

307
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Speaker 2: nineteen ninety four. And the fabricator, I call him the fabricator,

308
00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:01,119
Speaker 2: my pleadings. The fabricator knows the Paula goes back to

309
00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:05,280
Speaker 2: the July thirteenth, nineteen ninety one date, says, you have

310
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Speaker 2: to have an exit date two or three weeks after

311
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Speaker 2: that you have to be leaving the DR and back

312
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Speaker 2: into the US. So they pick, of all dates, July

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00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:15,359
Speaker 2: twenty seventh, nineteen ninety one.

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Speaker 1: Again, that's the exact date of his son's baptism, which

315
00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:23,560
Speaker 1: was critical to his alibi, not exactly a day that

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Speaker 1: you'd expect him to be traveling internationally.

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Speaker 2: The fabricator fabricates an exit stamp dated July twenty seventh,

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Speaker 2: nineteen ninety one. So the fabricator says, it's March twenty third,

319
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Speaker 2: twenty fourth, nineteen ninety four. Let's make a fabricated entry

320
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Speaker 2: stamp into the DR for March tenth, because today's the

321
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Speaker 2: twenty third, twenty fourth, it's only two weeks you're going

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Speaker 2: back to the US. It looks like you were owning

323
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Speaker 2: in the DR for two weeks. So those fabricated stamps

324
00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:53,640
Speaker 2: had a purpose, and the purpose was not to get

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00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:58,520
Speaker 2: away with murder, but to convince the US immigration folks

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Speaker 2: that he was in fact in the US from July

327
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,840
Speaker 2: twenty seventh, nineteen ninety one until like March tenth of

328
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Speaker 2: nineteen ninety four, so he a can get back into

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00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:12,879
Speaker 2: the States and b maintained this status he has in

330
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Speaker 2: the US.

331
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Speaker 1: When he arrived at Newark Airport, he was immediately arrested

332
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Speaker 1: and he had to hire an attorney.

333
00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:21,200
Speaker 3: We got a lawyer, and he left me at the

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00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:24,119
Speaker 3: county jail for nearly two and a half years, telling

335
00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:26,720
Speaker 3: me that the case would never go to trial, but

336
00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:29,120
Speaker 3: that he would pick up the case because he could

337
00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:32,320
Speaker 3: get enough evidence before the trial to say this never happened.

338
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:36,080
Speaker 1: Pedro's attorney may have been confident in light of the

339
00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:40,440
Speaker 1: passport stamps. Despite the two fabrications of which the attorney

340
00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:45,680
Speaker 1: was unaware, the stamps still exonerated Pedro. Plus the September

341
00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,800
Speaker 1: twenty seventh exit stamp from the Dominican Republic was really

342
00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:52,600
Speaker 1: problematic for Sarah Robinson's statement that she'd allegedly seen Pedro

343
00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:57,080
Speaker 1: in Philadelphia on July twenty sixth, nineteen ninety one. So

344
00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:02,000
Speaker 1: the District Attorney's office had to get really creative about

345
00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:07,600
Speaker 1: Pedro's possible James bond Esk travel itinerary to skirt Us customs.

346
00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:11,159
Speaker 2: Based on the Diaos quote, Pedro took a ferry boat narrative.

347
00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,320
Speaker 2: After Pedro left the Darren Street drug house at nine

348
00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:17,000
Speaker 2: thirty pm on July twenty sixth, nineteen one, he did

349
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:22,160
Speaker 2: the following. One traveled to either Philadelphia's airport or Newark's airport.

350
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Speaker 2: Two took a flight to presumably San Juan, Puerto Rico.

351
00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:26,880
Speaker 1: Three.

352
00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:29,879
Speaker 2: Once in San Juan, Pedro left the airport and traveled

353
00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:33,440
Speaker 2: to a boat. Four Pedro then took said boat from

354
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Speaker 2: San Juan to somewhere along the DR's eastern coast, maybe Samana.

355
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:40,920
Speaker 2: And five. Once in Samanna, Pedro drove to Pimento, the

356
00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:43,600
Speaker 2: town and the DR where his family lives, where he

357
00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:46,760
Speaker 2: arrived in time for his son's late morning early afternoon

358
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Speaker 2: baptism on July twenty seventh, nineteen ninety one. And I

359
00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:55,600
Speaker 2: believe the travel time between Samanna and Pimento is two hours.

360
00:20:55,320 --> 00:21:01,880
Speaker 1: So I suppose it's not impossible but certainly unlikely. I mean,

361
00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,720
Speaker 1: he'd need bake and believable ID to get on the

362
00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:11,560
Speaker 1: flight to San Juan. Then flawlessly make every connection, and

363
00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:15,440
Speaker 1: he also had to have made the trip both ways undetected.

364
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:19,720
Speaker 1: So it appears his attorney thought the passport was enough

365
00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:23,919
Speaker 1: to overcome this ridiculous theory since he didn't bother the

366
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:26,800
Speaker 1: subpoena any of the many alibi witnesses.

367
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:30,159
Speaker 3: We told them everything. We told them about all the

368
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:34,159
Speaker 3: witnesses in Santo Domingo. He never subpoened anyone because he

369
00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,240
Speaker 3: said it wasn't necessary, because he said the case would

370
00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:40,720
Speaker 3: be closed before getting to trial. But he never called

371
00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:44,320
Speaker 3: any of the witnesses, never subpoened. They came because they

372
00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:45,359
Speaker 3: were part of the family.

373
00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:49,320
Speaker 1: Nevertheless, his family showed up to the July nineteen ninety

374
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Speaker 1: six trial to testify with photographs from the baptism and

375
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Speaker 1: a priest.

376
00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:57,359
Speaker 3: Since my family brought them, the DA asked who subpoenaed you,

377
00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:00,879
Speaker 3: and since they came to favor me, used that against

378
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,560
Speaker 3: me because no one subpoenaed them to court.

379
00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:05,879
Speaker 1: Plus the exit stamp on the same date of the

380
00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,360
Speaker 1: baptism didn't do Pedro any favors. Not that Sarah Robinson

381
00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:11,560
Speaker 1: and Sam Wilkerson were that convincing either.

382
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:16,680
Speaker 3: Sarah Robinson accused me and she had already accused someone else,

383
00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:21,280
Speaker 3: and Samuel Wilkinson, the second witness, couldn't identify me in court.

384
00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:23,639
Speaker 3: The judge had to send him inside, and when he

385
00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:27,560
Speaker 3: came back he accused me, but only after the prosecutor

386
00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:28,320
Speaker 3: pointed at me.

387
00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:32,440
Speaker 1: So Wilkerson needed guidance, while Sarah Robinson had the baggage

388
00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:36,399
Speaker 1: of placing Pedro in Philadelphia on September twenty sixth, which

389
00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,000
Speaker 1: then in turn made the state have to sell this

390
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,919
Speaker 1: undetected mission impossible journey from the Dominican Republic to Philly

391
00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:48,359
Speaker 1: and back, all set against Pedro's passport, which placed him

392
00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,040
Speaker 1: in the dr during the crime.

393
00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,640
Speaker 2: So Pedro used the passport as a defense. But then

394
00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,880
Speaker 2: the DA's office had somebody from the ISS, a document

395
00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:03,320
Speaker 2: examiner review the stamps, and she was adamant that, in

396
00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:06,600
Speaker 2: her opinion, the July twenty seventh stamp was fabricated, and

397
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:10,879
Speaker 2: I think she also believed that the entry stamp on

398
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,879
Speaker 2: March tenth, ninety four was fabricated, having that testimony suggesting

399
00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:19,040
Speaker 2: that why would you fabricate them? This is where Pedro

400
00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:22,560
Speaker 2: douggs hole though, had he been up front with Luis Avino,

401
00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:25,399
Speaker 2: his child attorney, and said look, dude, this is what happened.

402
00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:27,359
Speaker 2: I was in the DR the whole time. Lose a

403
00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:30,960
Speaker 2: good trial attorney when there's a fact that could be

404
00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:33,840
Speaker 2: viewed through two different lenses. One isn't a bad light,

405
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:35,959
Speaker 2: one isn't a good light. If you're a defense attorney,

406
00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:39,359
Speaker 2: you take control of that right and your opening statement, Like,

407
00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,719
Speaker 2: my client fabricated his passport stance, but he did not

408
00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:45,200
Speaker 2: murder these people. That's your first statement in opening statement,

409
00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:49,920
Speaker 2: minimizing any aggravating theme the government can give to those

410
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:54,080
Speaker 2: fabricated stamps. You've bursted it yourself by saying, yeah, he

411
00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:56,320
Speaker 2: was in the DR the whole time, Like why would

412
00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:58,639
Speaker 2: my client, how could he leave? He was at his

413
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,200
Speaker 2: son's baptism on July twenty, twenty seventh, nineteen ninety one.

414
00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:03,960
Speaker 2: That is fabricated. We are admitting that. But here's why

415
00:24:04,119 --> 00:24:07,760
Speaker 2: he fabricated them, because that fabrication was created three years

416
00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,480
Speaker 2: later when he was trying to return to the United States,

417
00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:12,920
Speaker 2: because he was in the DR from July thirteenth, ninety

418
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:14,640
Speaker 2: one to March twenty fourth to ninety four.

419
00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:19,000
Speaker 1: But instead he gambled that the fabricated stamps would go unnoticed.

420
00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:24,240
Speaker 1: He lost that gamble, turning exonerating evidence into a liability,

421
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:29,320
Speaker 1: leaving the jury asking why are you fabricating passport stamps?

422
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,920
Speaker 3: From what I remember, deliberation lasted three or four days.

423
00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:39,920
Speaker 3: When I was found guilty. At that time my eyes blocked.

424
00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:46,040
Speaker 3: I suddenly couldn't see it. I went blind. I went blind.

425
00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:47,840
Speaker 3: I got very.

426
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:50,560
Speaker 1: For me.

427
00:24:50,960 --> 00:25:06,480
Speaker 4: That moment was the worst of my life.

428
00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:12,680
Speaker 1: Once convicted of a capital crime and a death penalty,

429
00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:16,000
Speaker 1: State Pedro was faced with a dire sentencing phase.

430
00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:21,159
Speaker 3: I had to defend myself. I took the stand and

431
00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:24,040
Speaker 3: told the lawyer that I wanted to defend my life.

432
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:27,399
Speaker 3: The lawyer told me not to, but I wanted to

433
00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,280
Speaker 3: defend my life. I told him I respect his decisions,

434
00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,200
Speaker 3: but I want to defend my life for my kids

435
00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:33,840
Speaker 3: and my family.

436
00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,159
Speaker 1: And ultimately they ruled life in prison was at the

437
00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:38,960
Speaker 1: final decision.

438
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:43,040
Speaker 3: My innocence has kept me a bit calm, But there

439
00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:45,520
Speaker 3: are days and nights in which I don't even know

440
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:50,560
Speaker 3: where I am. But my innocence is what keeps me calm.

441
00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,640
Speaker 3: I've always been a very friendly and compassionate person. When

442
00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:56,760
Speaker 3: I was out in the streets, I like to share

443
00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:00,600
Speaker 3: with people. I like to get to know others. That's

444
00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:03,280
Speaker 3: what keeps me safe in here. I don't get into

445
00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:06,840
Speaker 3: trouble with others, not nosy about what people do, and

446
00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,320
Speaker 3: never do anything bad. I've always been like that since

447
00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:11,240
Speaker 3: I was out in the streets.

448
00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:15,000
Speaker 1: And we hope that spirit has continued to serve him

449
00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:19,760
Speaker 1: as this injustice continues to flinger and really shame all

450
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:23,560
Speaker 1: of us. And Pedro was denied on his direct appeal

451
00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:26,280
Speaker 1: as well as his initial post conviction motions, in which

452
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:29,639
Speaker 1: the focus was ineffective assistance of trial council considering the

453
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:34,320
Speaker 1: number of alibi witnesses that were available but not presented. However,

454
00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:38,440
Speaker 1: the post conviction attorney didn't attach the affidavits from these

455
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:41,399
Speaker 1: alibi witnesses to the filing in nineteen ninety nine two thousand,

456
00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:46,000
Speaker 1: then they were procedurally barred, and then a new attorney

457
00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:47,919
Speaker 1: entered the picture named Michael Farrell.

458
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:50,919
Speaker 2: Michael, he was a good trial attorney, but post conviction

459
00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:53,680
Speaker 2: is a different type of law because everything's about deadlines.

460
00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:57,199
Speaker 2: If you don't get something timely, fouge, you're screwed. And

461
00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,000
Speaker 2: we talked about how Marischol I gave an AFFI day

462
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:03,200
Speaker 2: it in twenty eleven and in Pennsylvania at the time,

463
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,120
Speaker 2: they've still changed to thank God. But in Pennsylvania, once

464
00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:08,840
Speaker 2: you say you had new evidence, you had sixty days

465
00:27:09,359 --> 00:27:12,080
Speaker 2: to foul and petition and present that new evidence to

466
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:15,840
Speaker 2: the court, which is ridiculous because I can get a

467
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:17,880
Speaker 2: new piece of evidence that might get me to where

468
00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:19,119
Speaker 2: I want to get, but it's not going to get

469
00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:20,679
Speaker 2: me relief. So why am I going to present it

470
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:22,240
Speaker 2: to the court when I know I'm going to lose.

471
00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:25,919
Speaker 2: But that new piece of evidence might lead me to

472
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,679
Speaker 2: more evidence, so over time I can develop a claim.

473
00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:33,120
Speaker 2: But long story short, Michael Farrell did not present that Affidavid.

474
00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:37,800
Speaker 2: He didn't present Sarah Robinson's AFFI David. It just was

475
00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:40,600
Speaker 2: again a cascade of horribles.

476
00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:45,400
Speaker 1: As we mentioned, Marisol's twenty eleven Affidavid was about her

477
00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:48,840
Speaker 1: run ins with Chiwito before and after the shooting, how

478
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:52,359
Speaker 1: he admitted it to her, and establishing that Chuito was

479
00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:57,280
Speaker 1: rafae Albadal. Sarah Robinson also gave an affidavid in twenty

480
00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,800
Speaker 1: ten where she recanted her trial testimony, said that she

481
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:04,639
Speaker 1: was incentivized with drugs as well as the detectives making

482
00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:10,040
Speaker 1: some assault charges magically go away. Unfortunately, and that's not

483
00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,840
Speaker 1: as strong enough word. Farrell did not filew them in time.

484
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:17,080
Speaker 1: But Sam Wilkerson was a different story, So he.

485
00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:20,719
Speaker 2: Gave a statement on March first of twenty twelve, and

486
00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:24,960
Speaker 2: then Mike Farrell uses that statement to get a PCRA

487
00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:29,000
Speaker 2: hearing July twelveth of twenty thirteen. Wilkerson testified, Yes, his

488
00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:32,120
Speaker 2: testimony was follos because he knew Pedro was not one

489
00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:34,520
Speaker 2: of the men who did any shooting. Quote Pedro did

490
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,360
Speaker 2: not shoot anybody. And Mike Parall just jumped right into

491
00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:40,440
Speaker 2: the primary issue. Quote were you on that corner at

492
00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,480
Speaker 2: the time of the shooting? Answer yes, question did you

493
00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:47,840
Speaker 2: see who shot Popo? And Charlie Chan answer yes? Question

494
00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,720
Speaker 2: who wasn't? Answer Tweeto. Mike Farrell confirmed Tweeto's real name

495
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:53,120
Speaker 2: is Rafie Overdel.

496
00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,800
Speaker 1: And then the state called Chuck Bentham in rebuttal. Now,

497
00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:59,200
Speaker 1: remember the homicide file doc that could have impeached Bentham

498
00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:01,280
Speaker 1: were not available until twenty nineteen.

499
00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:06,760
Speaker 2: The DA's office calls Bentham and Mike Farrell asked him like,

500
00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:08,760
Speaker 2: what do you know about Tweeto? Now keep in mind

501
00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:13,520
Speaker 2: the very first page of that homicide foul has Tweeto

502
00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:17,520
Speaker 2: identified as one of the two perpetrators, and Bentham's like, ehh,

503
00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:20,720
Speaker 2: they maybe sound familiar. I don't know which is I mean,

504
00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:23,360
Speaker 2: which just drives me up a fucking wall, because there

505
00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:28,320
Speaker 2: are situations where the Philly Police Department will collect excalpatory

506
00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:31,800
Speaker 2: evidence and not give it to the DA's office. Right

507
00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:34,680
Speaker 2: under Brady, that doesn't matter, it's imputed in this case,

508
00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:38,040
Speaker 2: though the DA's office had multiple copies of the homicide

509
00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:39,720
Speaker 2: summary in their own case file.

510
00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:43,440
Speaker 1: Wilkerson also testified about how he was forced into signing

511
00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:46,440
Speaker 1: on to Sarah Robinson's narrative on July thirty first, nineteen

512
00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:49,120
Speaker 1: ninety one, you know, the whole Eminem's or deal, but

513
00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:51,840
Speaker 1: without the homicide file to impeach Bentham. I guess the

514
00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:56,600
Speaker 1: judge found Bentham more credible, denying the motion in twenty fourteen,

515
00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:59,680
Speaker 1: and then Craig took on the case, filing his federal

516
00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:02,800
Speaker 1: haby in which he tried to admit the alibi evidence

517
00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:04,840
Speaker 1: and witnesses as new evidence.

518
00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:07,440
Speaker 2: So when I got the case in twenty sixteen, and

519
00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:10,240
Speaker 2: I foiled as federal petition, which was thirteen years late,

520
00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:15,440
Speaker 2: and thankfully the federal courts as an actual innocence exception,

521
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:20,320
Speaker 2: where if your petition is untimely, but you have substantial

522
00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:23,920
Speaker 2: evidence that you are in fact, actually innocent, they'll overlook

523
00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,840
Speaker 2: the untimeliness, take jurisdiction of your petition and review it.

524
00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:31,120
Speaker 2: But what the District Court judge said was, well, because

525
00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:34,680
Speaker 2: trow council knew about these witnesses, it's not new evidence.

526
00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:39,240
Speaker 2: So he was defining new evidence as evidence. That's something

527
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:41,600
Speaker 2: that had to be outside the realm of what trial

528
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:45,920
Speaker 2: council knew. And there was a great case that had

529
00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,000
Speaker 2: just come down from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals

530
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,560
Speaker 2: that said no new evidence is any evidence that the

531
00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:54,040
Speaker 2: jury didn't hear. And so I convinced the Third Circuit

532
00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:56,880
Speaker 2: in January of nineteen to take the appeal.

533
00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:00,000
Speaker 1: But that wasn't the only avenue of relief at Quigs.

534
00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:04,400
Speaker 2: By late twenty nineteen, Fetterman's doing these commutation hearings.

535
00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:06,240
Speaker 3: I went to the Bord of Partons to try and

536
00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:08,040
Speaker 3: get out that way. I don't know if you know this,

537
00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:11,920
Speaker 3: but I got four unanimous votes and the Attorney General

538
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:13,240
Speaker 3: held me under advisement.

539
00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:16,800
Speaker 2: Fetterman reached out to me because he learned about Pedro's

540
00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:20,120
Speaker 2: case and so Neilim and I went up to CI

541
00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:23,040
Speaker 2: Phoenix to meet with him to go over everything. And

542
00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:25,320
Speaker 2: it's at that point I was under the impression that

543
00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:29,640
Speaker 2: those passport stamps were legitimate. Fetterman, He's like, they're fabricated,

544
00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,160
Speaker 2: and Neilim and I just were like one of those

545
00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:33,480
Speaker 2: fuck moments.

546
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:36,160
Speaker 1: But this isn't a deal breaker, like we said earlier.

547
00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:39,320
Speaker 1: When the story behind the fabrications is understood, they're no

548
00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:44,440
Speaker 1: longer a liability. Meanwhile, Neelam Sangi from the Pennsylvania Innocence Project,

549
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:47,200
Speaker 1: along with Craig, not only asked Patron for an explanation,

550
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:49,800
Speaker 1: but they also hired an expert to look into the

551
00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:51,080
Speaker 1: fabricated stamps.

552
00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:55,320
Speaker 2: Neil and I were able to talk to Tom Griffin, an

553
00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:59,360
Speaker 2: experienced immigration attorney who knows the immigration policies even back

554
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:02,200
Speaker 2: in the eighties, and have him go through other documents,

555
00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:05,320
Speaker 2: immigration documents and explain to us why Pedro would get

556
00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:10,520
Speaker 2: the fabricated exit stamp from the DR on July twenty seventh,

557
00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:14,320
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety one, and then why he would get a

558
00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:18,360
Speaker 2: fabricated entry stamp to the DR on March tenth and

559
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:19,240
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety four.

560
00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:22,640
Speaker 1: While they were investigating Pedro's passport. Larry Krasner had been

561
00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:26,040
Speaker 1: elected DA in Philadelphia and he formed their Conviction Integrity

562
00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:29,760
Speaker 1: Unit under Patricia Cummings. They accepted Pedro's case for reinvestigation

563
00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:33,000
Speaker 1: and Tom Gato was assigned the case, and importantly, he

564
00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:37,600
Speaker 1: handed over the homicide file, which contained many illuminating documents

565
00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:42,360
Speaker 1: that exhibited how the nicknames had morphed over time, as

566
00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,840
Speaker 1: well as the document that named Tuito and Papadito, the

567
00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:46,760
Speaker 1: homicide summary.

568
00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,080
Speaker 2: They had multiple copies of it, because when we went

569
00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:50,920
Speaker 2: to the ja's office and looked at that other stuff,

570
00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:53,200
Speaker 2: I goh, here's another copy of the homicide summary. Oh,

571
00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:57,600
Speaker 2: another one and another one, and copies of Phlo Garcia's

572
00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:00,440
Speaker 2: a rest report identifying him as Papadido. And none of

573
00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:03,280
Speaker 2: this was ever disclosed either a trial or during the

574
00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:06,920
Speaker 2: PCA proceedings back in like twenty ten to twenty fourteen.

575
00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,560
Speaker 1: So they poured over these previously hidden documents as well

576
00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:14,320
Speaker 1: as heard testimony from witnesses, starting with the Cadre of

577
00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:16,080
Speaker 1: alibi witnesses from the DR.

578
00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:21,160
Speaker 2: So in August of twenty twenty, neilm was able to

579
00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:24,680
Speaker 2: get all the family in the DR into one room

580
00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:28,520
Speaker 2: and we did zoom interviews with Patricia Cummings and Tom Gaeta.

581
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:32,840
Speaker 2: Were these individuals. All these individuals said, yes, he never left.

582
00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:35,480
Speaker 2: He came in on this date and he never left.

583
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:39,520
Speaker 2: So we even provided them with live testimony or live

584
00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:46,360
Speaker 2: statements explaining what the documents and the photographic evidence already proved.

585
00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:50,280
Speaker 1: Right there were tons of photographs of the baptism, and importantly,

586
00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:52,760
Speaker 1: Pedro had a thick mustache at the time, while the

587
00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:56,440
Speaker 1: assailant had always been described as clean shaven. Then they

588
00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:59,600
Speaker 1: moved on to the eyewitnesses. By this time Marisol had

589
00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:02,960
Speaker 1: passed way, but Sam Wilkerson and Sarah Robinson told their

590
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,760
Speaker 1: stories about Bentham and Devlin and how they had both

591
00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:11,200
Speaker 1: initially identified Chiuwito but were either coerced or incentivized to lie.

592
00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:14,680
Speaker 1: But the CiU hit a snag on the passport stamps.

593
00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,840
Speaker 2: It's frustrating because there is an easy and reasonable explanation

594
00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:21,040
Speaker 2: for these dates and why he would do what he did.

595
00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:23,800
Speaker 2: This went on from like August of twenty twenty to augusta,

596
00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:26,799
Speaker 2: twenty twenty one, I think January of twenty twenty two.

597
00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,960
Speaker 2: Mike Garmisa is named the new head of the CiU.

598
00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:34,320
Speaker 2: I like Mike. We had a call with Mike. Mike's

599
00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:36,359
Speaker 2: just like, yeah, we don't see what you see. So

600
00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:38,600
Speaker 2: we're just going to send it over to the FED

601
00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:42,080
Speaker 2: lit like the Federal Habeas unit at the DA's office.

602
00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:46,680
Speaker 1: So, after seeing all of the exculpatory evidence alibi witnesses, dates,

603
00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:51,000
Speaker 1: witness recantations, as well as the police coercion and misconduct

604
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,560
Speaker 1: that led to the wall statements, not to mention the

605
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:58,160
Speaker 1: Brady material, the CiU chose to get stuck on Pedro's

606
00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:02,880
Speaker 1: fabricated passport stamps and the reasonable story of maintaining his

607
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:07,600
Speaker 1: immigration status while taking care of his sick mother, so

608
00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:09,600
Speaker 1: they resumed the federal habeas proceedings.

609
00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:12,640
Speaker 2: There's two primary federal claims. You know, trial counsel was

610
00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:16,600
Speaker 2: ineffective for not presenting more alibi witnesses only two alibi

611
00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:19,600
Speaker 2: witnesses testified, and the other one, the more significant one

612
00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:21,960
Speaker 2: I believe at this point, is the Brady claim of

613
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:26,160
Speaker 2: all the suppressed evidence regarding Tweeto and documents identifying Phalo

614
00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:27,840
Speaker 2: Garcia as papadido.

615
00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:31,120
Speaker 1: In addition to that, there's also the procedural argument about

616
00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:34,600
Speaker 1: what constitutes new evidence and whether or not. The federal

617
00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:38,399
Speaker 1: court can assume jurisdiction over that as new evidence under

618
00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:41,680
Speaker 1: the actual innocent standard, and that is a high standard

619
00:35:41,719 --> 00:35:43,800
Speaker 1: that no juror would vote to convict.

620
00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:46,239
Speaker 2: To win a Brady claim, you simply have to prove

621
00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:48,960
Speaker 2: one one juror. You know, it's reason Papa would have

622
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:53,120
Speaker 2: impacted their vote. Here, it's all of them collectively would

623
00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:55,840
Speaker 2: say we're not buying what you're selling. We're going to

624
00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:58,920
Speaker 2: quit them. And I think we meet that, but it's

625
00:35:58,920 --> 00:35:59,600
Speaker 2: a hard standard.

626
00:35:59,719 --> 00:36:04,160
Speaker 1: Then there's the actual claims and evidence themselves, and with

627
00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:07,400
Speaker 1: a homicide file, there's so much more support for his claims.

628
00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:12,960
Speaker 2: I filed one hundred and eighty page supplemental amended Federal

629
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:17,120
Speaker 2: HAB's petition July fifth of twenty twenty two, and then

630
00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,560
Speaker 2: the DA's office files a twenty five page response. They're

631
00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:23,000
Speaker 2: putting up a fight, but they're not putting up a fight.

632
00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:26,319
Speaker 2: It's the James Bond argument that he was capable of

633
00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:31,279
Speaker 2: entering and entering multiple countries undetected. My argument, and I

634
00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:34,360
Speaker 2: made this in my pleadings, is Okham's razor. What's easier

635
00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:37,160
Speaker 2: to believe. There's two narratives. One is the one I

636
00:36:37,239 --> 00:36:39,600
Speaker 2: just presented you. Right, He's in the DR the whole time,

637
00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:42,719
Speaker 2: and these are why he fabricated these stamps. The other

638
00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:45,920
Speaker 2: one is the das is that we flew into the

639
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:50,680
Speaker 2: DR on July thirteenth, nineteen ninety one. He somehow gets

640
00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:56,000
Speaker 2: back to Philadelphia through two countries customs, the DR in

641
00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:59,200
Speaker 2: the US undetected, right, So he has to be back

642
00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:03,399
Speaker 2: in phil July twenty third, then commit the murder, and

643
00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:07,520
Speaker 2: then leave Philadelphia July twenty sixth, nineteen one. So you're

644
00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:10,880
Speaker 2: leaving one country entering another undetected where he's at his

645
00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:14,120
Speaker 2: son's baptism on July twenty seventh in the DR.

646
00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:17,440
Speaker 1: All within the tight time frame as per Sarah Robinson's

647
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:18,680
Speaker 1: now recanted statement.

648
00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:21,399
Speaker 2: So what's easier to believe Aukin's Razor would say, well,

649
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:23,640
Speaker 2: obviously it's the first one he's been down there. We

650
00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:29,440
Speaker 2: have all these documents, photographs, birth certificates, and an experienced

651
00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:33,080
Speaker 2: immigration attorney explaining the dates and why they're significant. And

652
00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:36,680
Speaker 2: what is there to corroborate the DA's narrative, like he's

653
00:37:36,719 --> 00:37:37,839
Speaker 2: like James Bond.

654
00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:40,520
Speaker 1: And remember he only has to be James Bond to

655
00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:44,920
Speaker 1: satisfy statement Sarah Robinson now maintains came from two disgraced

656
00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:48,880
Speaker 1: Philadelphia detectives. I mean, these guys are notorious. They're in

657
00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:52,760
Speaker 1: the cases of many of our guests, Tony Wright, Jimmy Dennis,

658
00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:58,920
Speaker 1: Walter Ogrod, Troy Coleman, Manford Younger, and of course Pedro Renoso.

659
00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:01,240
Speaker 1: So where is the case at now.

660
00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:04,320
Speaker 2: It's in front of a magistrate judge right now. Because

661
00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:07,080
Speaker 2: in the Eastern District, once you file federal habi's petition,

662
00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:10,800
Speaker 2: the district court will assign a magistrate judge to review

663
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:14,960
Speaker 2: the petition into draft and file what's called a report

664
00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:17,640
Speaker 2: and recommendation. And it sounds just like what it is.

665
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:20,400
Speaker 2: It's a report of the case and it's a recommendation

666
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:23,040
Speaker 2: to the district court as to what the district court

667
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:26,040
Speaker 2: should do regarding each claim or the petition in general,

668
00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:31,120
Speaker 2: like say, the magistrate judge and a report recommendation saying no,

669
00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:34,040
Speaker 2: it's untimely, you didn't meet the actual inison standard for

670
00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:37,680
Speaker 2: these reasons. The losing side can file objections to the

671
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:41,239
Speaker 2: report recommendation and then the district court would decide what

672
00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:44,319
Speaker 2: to do. And for the most part, whatever happens in

673
00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:48,879
Speaker 2: the report recommendation is ultimately adopted into a final order

674
00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:49,959
Speaker 2: by the district Court.

675
00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:53,360
Speaker 1: Well, let's hope the magistrate judge sees what we see.

676
00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:56,840
Speaker 1: So what can our audience do to help.

677
00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:01,040
Speaker 2: Just spread the word or donate to other innocence projects

678
00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:06,080
Speaker 2: that do this work. People need representation, so donate to

679
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:09,759
Speaker 2: the innocence projects local or national, and so people like

680
00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:10,960
Speaker 2: Pedro can have attorneys.

681
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:13,719
Speaker 1: And with that, we're going to go to closing arguments.

682
00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:16,440
Speaker 1: And this is my favorite part of the show. It's

683
00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:20,400
Speaker 1: where I first thank you Craig Pedro for sharing this. Pedro,

684
00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:23,120
Speaker 1: You're a hero to all of us. So now I'm

685
00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:25,239
Speaker 1: going to turn my microphone off and hand it over

686
00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:29,280
Speaker 1: to Craig for any final thoughts you want to share.

687
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:31,839
Speaker 1: And then Craig, you just handed off the microphone over

688
00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:34,320
Speaker 1: to Pedro and he'll take us off into the sunset.

689
00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:38,600
Speaker 2: I just end on the Oakham's razor principle, like, what's

690
00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:43,080
Speaker 2: there's two narratives here, and the simplest narrative is usually

691
00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:48,000
Speaker 2: the correct narrative, and that narrative is Pedro Renoso flew

692
00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:52,480
Speaker 2: into the dr on July thirteenth, nineteen ninety one. Stay

693
00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:57,160
Speaker 2: there till March twenty fourth, nineteen ninety four, and while returning,

694
00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:01,120
Speaker 2: he figured out he needed to fabricate two passport stamps

695
00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:04,960
Speaker 2: to maintain his visa status in the US. He wasn't

696
00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:07,440
Speaker 2: doing it so cover up a double murder, because we

697
00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:11,279
Speaker 2: have substantial evidence that places him in the DR all

698
00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:14,560
Speaker 2: those years. So that's the straightforward narrative. The other narrative

699
00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:19,000
Speaker 2: is he enters the DR July thirteenth, nineteen ninety one,

700
00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:24,080
Speaker 2: and he somehow returns to Philadelphia by July twenty second,

701
00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:27,160
Speaker 2: because the murder's on July twenty third, So I was

702
00:40:27,239 --> 00:40:31,360
Speaker 2: leaving the DR, entering the US undetected, leaving the US,

703
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:35,560
Speaker 2: coming back into the DR undetected, and that's how he's

704
00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:40,000
Speaker 2: at his son's baptism on July twenty seventh, nineteen ninety one.

705
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:42,920
Speaker 2: But again, this begs this question, if he's so good

706
00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:47,319
Speaker 2: at entering and exiting these countries in nineteen ninety one undetected,

707
00:40:47,719 --> 00:40:50,680
Speaker 2: why didn't he just go undetected in March of nineteen

708
00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:53,560
Speaker 2: ninety four. Those are your two narratives. Let the audience

709
00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:56,200
Speaker 2: figure out which one's the slumpest one to believe.

710
00:40:57,719 --> 00:41:00,600
Speaker 3: I want to live with my family in tranquility. I

711
00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:03,719
Speaker 3: want to make up for lost time. I want to

712
00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:07,200
Speaker 3: take care of my health above all, and spend time

713
00:41:07,200 --> 00:41:09,920
Speaker 3: with my grandkids. I want to thank you for this

714
00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:12,680
Speaker 3: and I would love to meet you in the future

715
00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:16,239
Speaker 3: so I can give you a hug and thank you

716
00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:16,800
Speaker 3: in person.

717
00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:19,279
Speaker 1: I want to stick in English. No, thank you and

718
00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:22,200
Speaker 1: thank you every one and with you, and this is modest.

719
00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:31,800
Speaker 1: God bless you all. Thank you for listening to Wrongful Conviction.

720
00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:34,040
Speaker 1: You can listen to this and all the Lava for

721
00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:37,520
Speaker 1: Good podcasts one week early and ad free by subscribing

722
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:40,560
Speaker 1: to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I want

723
00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:43,600
Speaker 1: to thank our production team, Connor Hall and Kathleen Fink,

724
00:41:43,719 --> 00:41:47,080
Speaker 1: as well as my fellow executive producers Jeff Kempler, Kevin Wartis,

725
00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:49,600
Speaker 1: and Jeff Cliber. The music in this production was supplied

726
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:52,759
Speaker 1: by three time OSCAR nominated composer Jay Ralph. Be sure

727
00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:55,560
Speaker 1: to follow us across all social media platforms at Lava

728
00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:58,560
Speaker 1: for Good and at Wrongful Conviction. You can also follow

729
00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:01,759
Speaker 1: me on Instagram at its Jason flamm. Ralful Conviction is

730
00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:04,759
Speaker 1: a production of Lava for Good Podcasts and association with

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00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:06,040
Speaker 1: Signal Company Number One.

732
00:42:06,160 --> 00:42:08,600
Speaker 3: We have worked hard to ensure that All facts reported

733
00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:11,440
Speaker 3: in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed

734
00:42:11,440 --> 00:42:13,799
Speaker 3: by the individuals featured in this show are their own

735
00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:16,680
Speaker 3: and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good