Judge vacates 80 years-to-life prison sentence after new evidence clears Michael Renteria
September 5, 2026 – LOS ANGELES, CA – A Los Angeles County judge on Friday found a 38-year-old man factually 
innocent of a 2013 drive-by shooting that seriously injured two brothers. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office’s Justice Conviction Review Unit and the California Western Innocence & Justice Clinic cited new evidence that came to light after sentencing and pointed to another individual who allegedly committed the crime.
“Today was a great day for justice. Often when a District Attorney says this, he is talking about an arrest, a conviction, a trial victory or a sentence,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman. “But today justice took a different form: setting aside a wrongful conviction and proclaiming a man factually innocent of attempted murder charges brought over a decade before. My Office’s relentless pursuit of justice does not stop with the verdict and sentence but continues on, following any new evidence that comes to light to make sure we have brought the culpable criminal to justice.
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Once new evidence emerged in the Renteria case, our Justice Conviction Review Unit, working with the California Western Innocence & Justice Clinic, engaged in a methodical and extensive years-long investigation at the conclusion of which we were able to determine that Mr. Renteria was wrongfully convicted and factually innocent of shooting the Madrigal brothers.
Today, Mr. Renteria heard a judge say the one word he’s been longing to hear over these past 12 years: innocent. While he can never get back the additional years he spent behind bars on the attempted murder charges, his claim of innocence on those charges has been fully validated.”
In April 2015, Michael Renteria was convicted by a jury of two counts of attempted murder, two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of possession of an assault weapon. Jurors also found gang and gun allegations to be true. Renteria was later sentenced to 80 years to life in state prison.
On August 23, 2013, Renteria was accused of driving his pickup truck, pulling out a handgun and shooting Juan Madrigal, then 19 years old, and his brother, Jose Madrigal, then 18, as they stood on a sidewalk in the 3300 block of Virginia Street in Lynwood. Both victims were injured but survived. The shooter fled the scene before authorities arrived.
Renteria was arrested on February 13, 2014, after a single eyewitness identified him as the shooter. Two firearms were found during a search warrant that was served at Renteria’s home but neither weapon matched the firearm evidence recovered at the Virginia Street crime scene. In addition to the attempted murder charges, which have now been dismissed, Renteria also was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of an assault weapon, charges that have not been dismissed.
Renteria’s innocence claim was filed with the Justice Conviction Review Unit in 2020. After a careful review of the facts and analysis of the law, prosecutors determined that Renteria met his legal burden to establish habeas relief, asserting he was wrongfully convicted because of mistaken identity combined with new evidence of his actual innocence.
“Renteria could not be convicted of these crimes as either a direct perpetrator or as an aider and abettor (as a passenger). Accordingly, it is more likely than not that all jurors would have acquitted Renteria if they had been presented the new evidence in this case,” according to a joint petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by the District Attorney’s Office and the California Western Innocence & Justice Clinic.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Emily Garcia Uhrig today vacated the two attempted murder counts and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon in case TA136346. The sentencing for the two remaining counts – stemming from the search warrant – will be handled at another court hearing.
Renteria was ordered released from custody immediately and is expected to be released today or early next week.
Anyone who believes they have been wrongly convicted can submit a conviction review request form that are in English and Spanish:
https://da.lacounty.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/Form_JCRU%202025_English.pdf
https://da.lacounty.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/Form_JCRU%202025_Spanish.pdf
Source: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
