June 21st, 2017: A man by the name of Guy Miles served more than 18 years in prison for a crime he claims he did not commit. The California Innocence Project has worked tirelessly on his case for the past fifteen years and finally was able to strike a deal with the Orange County prosecutors.
Justin Brooks, an attorney and director of the California Innocence Project, claims that this case was simply one of mistaken identity.
In June of 1998, two men entered the Fidelity Financial bank located in Fullerton and robbed the place. They had a third member that was waiting for them in a car just outside the bank. Guy Miles was spotted by two eyewitnesses who have stuck to their original testimony since the conviction.
Miles was convicted in June of 1999 of the crime but claimed he was in Las Vegas at the time of the robbery; he was sentenced to 75 years to life. His attorney at the time advised him to take a “West” plea that would allow him not admit guilt but neither would he dispute the charges filed against him. The plea would also allow him to be released from prison.
Since the 1998 crime occurred, three men have admitted to the crime and Guy Miles was not one of them. The men have also gone as far to say that Miles had nothing to do with the original crime which validates the witnesses that believed to have seen him in Las Vegas at the time the Fullerton robbery took place. In January the conviction was overturned in light of new evidence. Justice Eileen Moore believes that the police and prosecutors didn’t follow proper procedures in order to ensure their victory in the case against Miles.
After much deliberation, Guy Miles was released from Theo Lacy Jail, located in Orange, on the evening of Tuesday, June 20th.
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