Truth Justice and Power: the Case of James Ochoa

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Truth justice and power: The case of James Ochoa Marcela Mejia Carlos Albizu University Case Summary James Ochoa was convicted of arm robbery. The crime occurred in Buena Park California half an hour after midnight on May 22, 2005. Two young Hispanic men were approached by one man who was described to also be young and Hispanic. The two young men said that the man that approached them pulled out a gun and asked them for their wallets and the keys to their car. The perpetrator was described as wearing a black baseball cap and a flannel shirt. He left in the car, a Volkswagen Jetta, and with $600 dollars. After the perpetrator left, the victims called the police (Innocent Project, 2010). Earlier that same night, a couple of blocks away from the robbery that was just described, James Ochoa, while sitting in front of his house with a couple of friends was approached and searched by a police officer. Ochoa had been arrested in the past for drug possession. This time, however, Ochoa and his friends did not have any illegal drugs or broken the law. They were not arrested (Innocent Project, 2010). The same police officer that searched Ochoa and his friends responded to the robbery described above. When he got to the crime scene, he asked the victims to recount what had happened and he also asked for a description of the perpetrator. When the victims finished the description, the officer showed them a picture of James Ochoa. The victims told the police officer that the man that assaulted them looked like Ochoa (Innocent Project, 2010). Half an hour after the robbery, at about 1 a.m., the stolen car was found parked a couple of blocks from where the carjacking had occurred, which was also very close to Ochoa’s house. The police found a black baseball hat and a grey shirt on the front seat of the car. When the victims were questioned

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