Exonerated South Bay Man Who Served 17 Years Files Suit: Report

SAN JOSE, CA — A South Bay man who was exonerated after serving 17 years for a wrongful attempted murder conviction has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that his civil and due-process rights were violated, The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Lionel Rubalcava, 42 of San Jose, was exonerated in May 2019 for a 2002 wrongful conviction in a shooting that left Raymond Rodriguez paralyzed from the waist down according to the report.

Neufeld Scheck & Brustin, a law firm based in New York City, filed the lawsuit last week according to the report. The city of San Jose and Santa Clara County are among six defendants named in the lawsuit.

“The breadth and scope of misconduct that caused an innocent Lionel Rubalcava to spend 17 years in prison is staggering,” said plaintiff attorney Nick Brustin, according to the report.

“Through this civil rights lawsuit, we will prove that San Jose police officers and detectives violated Mr. Rubalcava’s constitutional rights at every step of the investigation.”

The Northern California Innocence Project took on Rubalcava’s case in 2009 after multiple unsuccessful appeals on the basis of conflicting eyewitness testimony, according to the NCIP.

Rodriguez, who identified Rubalcava as the shooter at trial, recanted his testimony in 2005, according to the NCIP.

Former SJPD detective Joseph Perez and current San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia are among those named in the suit, according to The Mercury News report.

Read more in The San Jose Mercury News