A Minnesota man is having the "best week" after he was freed from prison following a 16-year prison stint for a wrongful murder conviction.
Edgar Barrientos-Quintana, 41, walked out of prison a free man Tuesday after the Hennepin County District Attorney dismissed murder charges stemming from the 2008 fatal drive-by shooting of 18-year-old Jesse Mickleson, according to officials.
He was sentenced to life without parole for a murder he did not commit. After learning his fate in 2009, Barrientos-Quintana remained hopeful justice would prevail.
"I just didn't know when, and that's the problem. You know it's going to happen, but the system is so slow," Barrientos-Quintana told reporters upon his release, according to The Minnesota Star-Tribune. "Happy to be out here. It's the best week and more to come."
In 2008, Minneapolis Police Sgts. Robert Dale and Christopher Gaithers were assigned Mickleson's case. It was their first murder investigation, according to court documents reviewed by the Lawyer Herald.
Although several witnesses claimed the shooter had a "shiny, bald" head and Barrientos-Quintana had a "full head of hair" at the time of the shooting, he was still arrested.
Witnesses later claimed the sergeants used "coercive tactics" insinuating Barrientos-Quintana – a former gang member – was the prime suspect by showing an outdated picture of him in their photo lineup. Dale and Gaithers also hinted at threats of jail time, criminal charges, and "consequences" if witnesses they interviewed did not name a shooter, court records read.
The Minnesota Conviction Review Unit reopened the case and discovered prosecutors at the time withheld exculpatory evidence that would have supported Barrientos-Quintana's innocence and corroborated his alibi that he was at a grocery store in Maplewood, Minnesota – as seen in store surveillance footage – in the time leading up to the murder, according to the documents.
After the murder, phone records confirmed he was at his girlfriend's house. Evidence of his locations before and after the shooting did not support the state's allegations he was at the crime scene.
"Nothing can give Mr. Barrientos-Quintana those 16 years back, and for that, we are so sorry," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said during a news conference, earlier this week, according to CNN. "When the criminal system does not function ethically, it causes significant harm."
Barrientos-Quintana's attorney, Julie Jonas, who fought for his freedom the past decade and first met him when she worked with the Great North Innocence Project said, according to the Star-Tribune. "This is such an incredible day for Edgar and his family. Today we move forward and [are] thankful that even though justice was delayed, it was not denied."
