Prosecutors Drop Murder Charges Against Freed Prisoner

Santa Barbara prosecutors have dropped murder charges against an Oxnard man, who was freed from prison earlier this month when a judge ruled he was wrongly convicted as the gunman in a 1997 shooting.

Efren Cruz, 27, surrounded by several teary family members outside court Monday, said he feels he can finally go on with his life. He served 4 1/2 years in state prison before being released Oct. 12.

“I want to thank the district attorney for the decision--it shows me they were interested in the truth,” Cruz said. “I’ve had a lot of faith, and I believed the right thing was going to happen.”

Although Superior Court Judge Frank Ochoa’s Oct. 12 ruling set aside Cruz’s convictions for second-degree murder and attempted murder, the hearing Monday was required to decide whether there should be another trial.

Santa Barbara Dist. Atty. Hilary Dozer said prosecutors believed it was best to drop the charges at this time, given Ochoa’s ruling.

Although he would not say whether his office plans to proceed with the case, Dozer said Cruz still could be retried on related charges.

“What is important is justice for the victims,” Dozer said after the hearing. “If we determine we can try Cruz or others in the future, we will do so.”

But Cruz’s attorney, Kevin DeNoce, called the decision to drop charges an “implicit concession” by the district attorney’s office that Cruz is innocent.

“If they thought they had a case, they would have pursued it today,” DeNoce said. “It’s just too bad they won’t admit what their dismissal implies, which is that Efren Cruz is not the . . . shooter.”

Dozer also declined to elaborate on whether charges will be filed against Cruz’s 28-year-old cousin, Gerardo Reyes, who Ochoa and Ventura County law enforcement officials believe committed the crime.

“There is clearly more than a preponderance of the substantial credible evidence to prove that Gerardo Reyes, and not Efren Cruz, was the shooter,” Ochoa wrote in his ruling.

Cruz’s case stems from a Jan. 26, 1997, gang fight in Parking Lot No. 10 in downtown Santa Barbara, in which Michael Torres, 23, was killed. Santa Ynez resident James Miranda, 21, suffered a neck wound but recovered.

Reyes, an Oxnard gang member, was charged with murder after the shooting, but was later cleared as prosecutors focused their case on Cruz.

In 1999, Oxnard Police Det. Dennis McMaster got a tip from a police informant that Reyes was the real shooter who let his cousin take the blame.

Reyes, who later admitted to the killing in a secretly taped jailhouse confession, is serving an 11-year prison sentence for assault in an unrelated Oxnard case. Some witnesses testified that Reyes threatened to harm anyone who identified him as the gunman in the Lot 10 shootings.

Ventura County prosecutors last year brought the new evidence to Santa Barbara authorities, who refused to back down and contested Cruz’s petition for release from prison.

Phil Dunn, another Cruz attorney, said he is curious to see whether Dozer’s office pursues a conviction against Reyes.

“It would mean they would have to admit he was the one who really did the shooting,” he said.

DeNoce said the Cruz case should prompt prosecutors to scrutinize their policies and procedures in homicide investigations.

For now, Cruz is a free man. Though his convictions on two other charges stemming from the Lot 10 shootings--for possession of cocaine and concealing a dagger--were not overturned, he already has served more than the maximum sentences for each, Ochoa said.

Cruz said he is eager to get his life back. He will begin with a trip to Kentucky to visit his 7-year-old daughter, Karah, whom he has not seen in two years.

“That was the first thing I wanted to do when I got out,” he said.

But since his release, Cruz decided to remain in the state until Monday’s hearing.

The past week has been stressful for the entire family as they awaited the district attorney’s next move, said Marisela Toledo, Cruz’s aunt.

“I’m just so happy,” she said. “For Efren and for my sister.”

Cruz’s mother, Adela Reyes, said, “Finally, it’s over. It means we’ll be able to go to sleep without worrying about tomorrow.”