Man Acquitted in Murders Free ‘Like a Dream’ : New chance: Richard Rodriguez, who onced faced the death penalty and then life without parole, walks out of jail.

Richard Lawrence Rodriguez, who was acquitted of shooting an Anaheim couple in a murder-for-hire plot, was released from jail Friday night, saying his freedom “was like a dream.”

“I’m still in a state of shock,” he said in a jailhouse interview before his release. “I had it in my mind frame that I was going to be sent to prison for the rest of my life.”

Rodriguez, 22, was facing life without possibility of parole before he was acquitted Thursday on charges that involved conspiracy of murder, attempted murder, robbery and burglary of an Anaheim couple on Nov. 28, 1988.

Financial analyst Owen L. Terry, 56, had been shot twice in the head as he lay sleeping in his recliner chair. His wife, Pauline Terry, now 52, was shot four times but survived the attack and testified that Rodriguez was the gunman.

Prosecutors alleged that Rodriguez had been hired by the Terrys’ adopted son, David John Terry, 19, to kill the couple for $3,500 and whatever jewelry he could find in their home.

Defense lawyer Michael A. Horan said, however, that Rodriguez had nothing to do with the murder plot and was asked only to pick up some stolen property the night of the murder at a drainage ditch near the Terry home. The stolen property, a pair of gloves and a .45-caliber pistol were found in Rodriguez’s possession when he was arrested. The gun and the jewelry belonged to the Terrys.

Originally, prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Rodriguez but later decided to seek life without parole.

The jurors said they acquitted Rodriguez of the most serious charges because they were not convinced that Pauline Terry was truly able to identify her assailant.

Rodriguez, however was convicted of three misdemeanor charges, two for brandishing a weapon and one for receiving stolen property. The maximum sentence he faced was two years in jail. Since his arrest, he had served 494 days in County Jail and received 247 credit days, which gave him 741 days. Because his days in jail surpassed the two-year sentence, he was released Friday night.

In his interview, Rodriguez contended that he had nothing to do with the murder and said, “I know in my heart that I was innocent. I know I wasn’t that person. Sometimes I get angry because there’s somebody out there who did it and is laughing at me. I’m just happy I’m going to be set free.”

Rodriguez did not want to discuss his future plans but did say he wanted to leave Orange County and maybe even the state. He said he might move to Arizona to live with his girlfriend.

Expressing his surprise at the verdict, Rodriguez said, “It gave me another chance at life.”

“I wasn’t planning life after this. Back in December, I was up for the death penalty. Five months later, I’m let out. I was expecting the worst and praying for the best to happen,” he said.

“I spent a lot of time in jail thinking about a lot of things,” he said. “I wondered if I was ever going to walk on the street again, if I was ever going to walk on the beach again. The first thing I think I’m going to do is go to a church and pray. I got another chance a lot of people don’t get.”

Rodriguez said he felt sorrow for Pauline Terry and that he holds no grudge against her. He also said he did not know why she pointed him out in court as the triggerman.

“I don’t have any idea why (she said I did it),” he said. “Even though she pointed me out, I feel really sorry for her. She went through a lot of pain. She’s going to be in my prayers.”

Rodriguez said that he, like many people in court during Terry’s emotional testimony, felt for her.

“I sat there calmly. I tried to keep control of my emotions,” he said, admitting that he wanted to cry, too. But, he said: “There were so many times I just wanted to jump up and scream, ‘It’s not me.’ ”

Now, with his new-found freedom, Rodriguez vowed never to go back behind bars. After being in and out of jail since he was 12 years old, he said he will do what he can to lead a straight life.

“All I want to do is live a quiet life. You got to want to do it. Some people are so caught up in the system that they can’t get out,” he said. “This (second chance) is a life-changing thing. I’m going to take advantage of it.”

Rodriguez said that he spent his last night in jail praying and crying.

“I thanked God for giving me another chance,” he said.

On Friday morning, he said, “I woke up thinking (the acquittal) was a dream. It just didn’t seem like it was real. Now, the dream ended and I know it’s for real.”

One nightmare that Rodriguez said will probably continue to haunt him is the one that began almost immediately after he was arrested on suspicion of murder.

“I had nightmares about lethal injection,” he said. “I was strapped to a chair and someone came up and injected me with a fluid that burned the inside of my body. Those are the things that I go through. I still have nightmares. I don’t think that I’m crazy (but) emotionally, I’m a wreck.”

Rodriguez said he was angry at a lot of things while he was in jail.

“I was really angry at the newspapers,” he said. “It seemed like they were misleading people. I was also angry at the (legal) system.

“How do they repay a person for this life? The time they took away? No one is ever going to be able to give me back my time. It’s not what I missed, it’s what I lost. So many things have happened. The dreams, all the stress and the pressure--it’s hard.

“It’s one of those things I’m going to have to deal with.”

When Rodriguez was arrested, he was on parole from the California Youth Authority.

His parole carried through while he was in jail until he turned 21.

“Officially, our hold on him has ended,” said Youth Authority spokesman Julio Calder.

Times staff writer Matt Lait contributed to this report.