The Luis Vargas Story: Misidentified as the “Teardrop Rapist”

Episode Notes

Transcript

Michael Semanchik:

One morning you awake from the previous night’s slumber. You quietly lay in your bunk as reality’s focal point gradually sets in. It’s been over 10 years. You’re in prison. You’ve been in prison serving a life sentence for horrible crimes you did not commit. You’ve exhausted all your appeals in a desperate gambit to get out again and again. The criminal justice system let you down. And now for one last time, your freedom hangs in the balance. You’re waiting for DNA results to come back. If the tests reveal another person was at the scene of the crime, it could be your ticket home and it can’t be just any person. It needs to be an infamous serial rapist who’s never been caught, and hopefully there’s enough evidence in good condition to show exactly that. I’m Michael Semanchik, executive director for The Innocence Center, and you’re listening to The Luis Vargas story.

Musician & Exoneree William Michael Dillon:

♪ Spent most of my life in prison chasing our dreams called John, chasing our dream, chasing a dream. Want somebody, please hear my peace. Want somebody please set me free. ♪

Michael Semanchik:

Evidence preservation has been a chronic problem in the criminal justice system since the very beginning. Both the prosecution and defense put together bulwarks of evidence to make their case. At trial. Everything is meticulously organized and presented. Each side is thoroughly versed in their argument. They anticipate what the other side will say and devise battle plans accordingly. But what happens after the trial? After the jury decides the fate of the defendant, where do all of the exhibits go? Who takes care of the crime? Scene evidence, making sure it’s preserved for future testing and for how long? Unfortunately, recent history suggests that not enough is being done to protect evidence for the innocent. No one knows this better than Luis Vargas. He served 16 years of a life sentence for rape, kidnapping, and sodomy by force. All crimes committed by someone else to further pour salt on that wound. The actual perpetrator, the notorious teardrop rapist, went on for many years continuing his carnage on young women and minors. In this case, there were no winners. Everyone suffered and it was totally preventable.

Luis Vargas:

My name is Luis Lorenzo Vargas. I am a Mexican national. I migrated to California when I was about the age of nine years old. I’ve been living here ever since then, and I went to school here. I got me several jobs here to my family now. I’m a loving son. I’m a responsible father now, and I’m just a provider. Before my incarceration, I was a manager at a Manhattan bagel shop in North Hollywood on Sunset and Martel. I was working as a manager there. I was ordering, also scheduling and also maintaining the store. I had been doing that for a while.

Michael Semanchik:

So tell us about the day you were arrested.

Luis Vargas:

The day I was arrested, I was at a parenting class. It was about eight o’clock in the morning. I was assisting a parenting class at People in Progress. The name of the director was Richard Ramirez. I remember exactly because that was the name of the night stocker. And I was at this one class called People in Progress, right across MacArthur Park. And the day I was arrested, I was sitting in the balcony. I was sitting around with about six or seven individuals right next to me. There was a young lady, African American, and as I’m sitting down, we see a couple of police officers come. We were on the fifth floor, eight o’clock in the morning, mid Wilshire area, thousands of traffic, thousands of pedestrians. They went up to the fifth floor. As soon as they went up there, the receptionist just looks at the police officers.

The police officers go to the receptionist and they start asking questions. We’re in the balcony. I voice this out loud. I go, oh man, the African female. She goes, oh, there comes po-po, which is a meaning for police. And I go, oh, I jokingly stated, oh, they’re here for me. That was a joke. I never intended it to be true. Right? So next thing you know, as I said that I look at the police officers and then they motion, the receptionist motioned towards my way, and the police officers looked straight at me. They walked up to me and they go, are you Mr Luis Lorenzo Vargas Alto? I go, yes. I had nothing to fear. I wasn’t going to parenting class because I was being court ordered. I was going to parenting class because I supposedly wanted to be a better father. I was going on my own free will.

As I’m sitting in the parenting class and the police officer’s standing over me asking me all these questions, he goes, do you mind if we speak to you in the hallway? I go, sure. I had nothing to fear, no warrants, no arrest. I wasn’t running. I was trying to do the right thing. I was a manager. I had it going on. I had a nice Cadillac Fleetwood. I was living life. I was doing good, Mr. Mike, I had nothing of fear. Next thing you know, we walk into the hallway next to the receptionist area. He goes, okay, well, you know what? We need you to come over to the station. We want to ask you. There’s some detectives that want to ask you some questions. This is what they came up with. Questioning. No arrest mentioned nothing. I go, okay, sure, why not? I go, are you going to handcuff me? He goes, no.

Michael Semanchik:

It should be mentioned here that everything you say to police can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to remain silent and are not required to answer any of their questions. Unless you are being officially detained or arrested. You are actually legally free to go. If you want to leave, simply ask the police if you are being detained or arrested. If they answer no, you can leave politely. Tell them that you are leaving and don’t wish to talk with them. If they’re detaining or arresting you, the best thing to do is cooperate and do as they ask. If they ask you to show your hands, show your hands. If they ask you to get out of the car, get out of the car. But remember, you are under no obligation to tell them anything. You have the right to remain silent. It’s your right. It’s the law.

Luis Vargas:

We get into the elevator. We come down towards mid Wilshire area. Their squad car was parked all the way around the corner, like about 50 yards away. As I’m standing in front of the police squad car, he turns around and he goes, okay, well you know what? Now we’re going to have to handcuff you, so okay, sure, no problem. They handcuffed me. They put me in the squad car, and as I’m sitting in the squad car, I mean, he looked at me. I looked like a gang banger. I looked like I was raised in a gang oriented neighborhood. So he must like oldies, right? So next thing you know, the police goes, oh, what kind of music do you like? I go, no music whatsoever. And he goes, okay. He puts it on K-EARTH 101. It was an oldie station. This is where our system is flawed, that automatically they already have a picture and they go ahead and assume and they go ahead and already stigmatize an individual because of certain background cultural areas that you’re born with or whatever,

Michael Semanchik:

Whether or not the police officer was stereotyping Luis for music is difficult to say, but one detail that certainly stands out. Why say you’re not going to handcuff someone when in fact you intend to from the early onset, there is a building narrative of distrust between Luis and these police officers. That’s why it’s so important to remember your rights, especially when being arrested.

Luis Vargas:

He puts it on an oldies station. We’re on our way. We get to the station about 9:0 5, 9:10 in the morning from 9:10 in the morning all the way to about 6:15 in the evening. They put me in interrogation room that just had a table in a chair, and they had me wait for about two, three, almost four hours. I’m losing patience. I’m thinking, what’s going on? So next thing you know, the police officer that arrested me, he comes in and he goes, okay, we’re going to put you in the next room. He puts me in the next room. I see a two-way mirror. I know it’s a two-way mirror because I’ve seen him before, right? And there’s a table in a chair. So as I sit down, I tell the police officer, I know what’s behind her, maybe a victim detectives, maybe the DA and whatever, and he didn’t say nothing.

So he just sat me down. He just said, go ahead and wait a minute. Be patient detective going to be with you. So by this time, it’s probably about 2:10 in the afternoon. As I’m waiting, 2:10 becomes 3:00 and whatever. Next thing you know, the detective comes in with a file in her arm. And as she comes in, and by that time I’m angry because I’m there with no news, no water, no lunch, no Miranda rights. And as she comes into the room, I get up, I brazenly get up, and I go like, what the heck is going on? And the first thing she said was, do you give up your right to have an attorney present while questioning? I go, no. I go, what’s going on? She goes, do you give up your right to have an attorney present while questioning? I go, no. So you know what she did? The only thing she did at that moment was cold heartedly, just slammed shut the file on her arm. And she said, okay, see you in booking then. My world froze.

Michael Semanchik:

It should be noted that holding Luis in custody like this without giving his Miranda rights was probably a violation of his Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution. He was taken away from his mourning, handcuffed, put in a squad car, brought to a police station, detained all day without food or water, and then asked if he wanted to waive his rights. No one in his position would’ve felt free to leave. These kinds of conditions are designed to elicit responses. When you’re tired, hungry and stressed out, you are not at your best. You’re more likely to sabotage your best interests. And that’s the moment law enforcement is waiting for. Even though they never technically got around to asking questions, which would specifically trigger the Fifth Amendment, police are not allowed to indefinitely hold someone without an arrest. And now Luis would find out what he was being accused of. And it is well-documented that those kinds of charges can mean extreme danger behind bars.

Luis Vargas:

So next thing you know, at about 6:15, I’m being taken down to the booking station. As I’m in front of the booking officer, I find out that I’m being booked for two rapes and one sodomy.

Michael Semanchik:

So they hadn’t told you the entire time before that?

Luis Vargas:

They had not told me at all.

Michael Semanchik:

Wow.

Luis Vargas:

They had not told me at all.

Michael Semanchik:

Wow.

Luis Vargas:

So I’m like my whole world fell apart first and foremost because I know what happens to people with those type of crimes in prison. I know what happens to people with those type of crimes in police stations and dormitories and any type of institution. I know what happens. And secondly, because I mean, I seen my whole world fall apart because I thought I had to go in on already. I thought I was already doing the right thing. And next thing you know for this to happen, it was crazy.

Michael Semanchik:

Although there was no physical evidence tying Luis Vargas to the crimes, he was still found guilty based on eyewitness misidentification. As we discussed in a previous episode, mistaken witnesses can be very convincing, and once a jury hears that a defendant was identified, it can be very difficult to change their minds. The situation for Luis Vargas was about to go from very bad to much worse. When prisoners learn another has been arrested for rape or child molestation, they go out of their way to make them suffer up to and including killing them. This practice is well known in prisons across the country. It’s something that defense attorneys try to prepare their clients for. Luis would need to quickly learn how to keep those charges a secret from others while he was behind bars.

Luis Vargas:

Oh man, it was terrible. The first night in county jail after that, being accused I couldn’t get no sleep. I was trying to figure out, I was going through the motions of how to conceal my controlling case when I was in the county jails. Okay, what are going to be the next steps for me to conceal my controlling crime? Because I know that in jails and prisons, you are always asked, what are you here for? And sometimes you always ask to provide paperwork that speaks to what you’re there for because they don’t like rapists. They don’t like people that commit sodomy. They don’t like child molesters. So I was thinking of my mind was going racing. It was in survival mode. I was thinking, what is it that I’m going to say to be able to explain? I came up with the story that I was in there for first degree burglary, that I was strikeout case and that they were sentenced to me to 55 years to life for that.

Michael Semanchik:

And nobody ever asked for follow up or paperwork from you?

Luis Vargas:

Definitely, definitely. I was always asked for paperwork. I was always asked follow up.

Michael Semanchik:

So how do you get around that?

Luis Vargas:

I went ahead and falsified paperwork.

Michael Semanchik:

Wow.

Luis Vargas:

I had to go ahead and falsify and format a Chronos. I falsified dates. I falsified names of sergeants. I falsified names of commissioners. I falsified all type of different issues on the 128 G-Chrono to be able to prove to them that I was in there for first degree burglary and not rape.

Michael Semanchik:

A 128 G-Chrono is a type of prison record that keeps track of prisoner information. This document would normally list the crimes that Luis was wrongfully convicted of in prison. It is a common practice for prisoners to demand records from each other so that they know what everyone else is behind bars for. As we mentioned earlier, had Luis shared his actual documentation, he would’ve been in great danger. That is why he fabricated these records to list a different underlying crime.

Luis Vargas:

Because you know the very first individual, this happened during the first month that I was in there, the very first individual that I seen being killed was in the floor of 9500 in the Men’s Central jail that they now closed because it was one of the most dangerous floors during that time. A lot of riots, a lot of assaults, lot of rapes, lot of killings. The first person I seen killed was a man that was stuck in the corner, piled up with so many blankets you didn’t even know where he was at the south siders, the gang bangers. The politicians in jail went ahead and put a bag over his head and beat him up so bad that he choked in his own blood.

Michael Semanchik:

And he was in there for a sex crime or what was he in for?

Luis Vargas:

When I found out why they did that, and I found out that they did that because he had a sexual rape. He had a rape in his jacket. The only question I asked myself, Mr. Semanchik, was when is it my turn?

Michael Semanchik:

So at that point, you got to do whatever it takes to keep it a secret.

Luis Vargas:

I did whatever I had to do to be able to get by.

Michael Semanchik:

Imagine constantly living in fear like that, not knowing if each day might be your last, an endless state of dread about being severely beaten or killed. Although not unusual in our prison system, it is certainly cruel that people, especially innocent people, are forced to live like that. It’s more than enough to break the strongest among us. Fortunately, Luis was even stronger than that. He was going to get out. He was going to survive. While he was behind bars at Calipatria State Prison, Luis began fighting his case. He started with Ritz of habeas corpus, which is legal jargon for a post-conviction process that asks the court to review a case to make sure imprisonment is justified. Usually these writ go nowhere because most people in prison are actually guilty, and so there is no new evidence to consider. But Luis didn’t stop there. He began turning over every stone and sometimes just when you’ve given up and things look their darkest, a glimmer of hope will appear.

Luis Vargas:

When I filed my habias corpus, which was my last attempt to try to do something in favor of my case when I was in Calipatria State Prison, and they went ahead and shot me down telling me that the only way I could get back to court was whether I had no evidence to open up with, I had nothing to deal with, I couldn’t find. I wasn’t a legal beagle. I’m not an attorney. So I had no idea where to start. I had no clue of what to do. All I could do was grasp straws, try to find some type of way, form, or fashion where I could finally get some assistance. So I didn’t see no other way of going around it than to just write, write, write, write letters to different programs, different projects. Then somebody told me of the California Innocence Project from San Diego.

So I turned around and I wrote them a letter. I wrote them a letter asking them for assistance because I was innocent of the crimes I was being charged with. That’s the way I gained entrance into the opportunity to finally let me free, which was the fact that the California Innocence Project picked up my case. I had no new evidence to introduce, and it took a while for them to respond, but I was just hopeful that they would, right? So I wrote them a letter and eventually they responded. They sent me a questionnaire and they asked me to fill it out and to return it to them. At the end of the letter it said, don’t write us. We’ll get in contact with you if we decide to accept your case. Which was the hardest part for me. That was the hardest part for me, right? Because I mean, I was hopeful. I had already been sentenced to 55 years to life. I had already lost everything.

Michael Semanchik:

Remember what we said about it being the darkest, when you’re about to lose hope, this is one of those divine intervention moments that you hear a lot about. During our podcast time together, Luis was about to learn something very helpful, something that he could share with the California Innocence Project as they considered whether or not to take his case, something that would catch their eye and cause them to look deeper into the evidence. And as astonishing as this is going to sound it, 100% happened.

Luis Vargas:

I don’t remember the exact date, but I seen a KCAL 9 News report. Well, on that one specific day, I happened to have my television sit on KCAL 9 and they were showing the news. I had the volume load, they were showing the news. I had my back towards the tv. I was writing something on my desk. Next thing you know, out of nowhere, I hear breaking news out of downtown LA Serial Rapist Hunt, something like that. So since I was being accused of those type of crimes, it caught my attention. So I turned around and I went ahead and turned up all the volume on the TV, and I started listening real intently to what was being said. Well, lo and behold, everything that the detectives were talking about, the times, the hours, the victims, the modus operandi of this one individual that was committing the crimes fit to a T, it fit a hundred percent what I was accused of at court.

So as soon as I heard that Mr. Semanchik, I went ahead and turned around, grabbed the pencil. I started scribbling on a piece of paper. Everything that was being said. I wasn’t looking at the television, I was just writing, writing, writing away. When it was done, it took about probably 10 minutes, a little bit over 10 minutes. When it was done, I turned around. I wrote everything legitimately on a piece of paper, and I sent that letter to CIP. Well, lo and behold, I found later on through Mr. Justin Brooks, that was the letter that had them accept my case, and when they seen it, they seen how everything fit perfectly like a glove.

Michael Semanchik:

What are the odds? Luis just happens to have his TV on. He just happens to catch a random news report. It just happens to be related to his case. Somehow he has paper and pencil ready to capture the critical details for a handwritten letter. That handwritten letter is what convinced the California Innocence Project to take Luis’s case. It showed that there was a rapist out there doing the same exact things that Luis was accused of, the same, same description, the same victims. Needless to say, this made the Luis Vargas case stand out. Without that news report bringing certain details to light, it is not likely that Luis’s case would’ve moved forward. Divine intervention was nudging the helm towards home.

Luis Vargas:

During the time when they had sentenced me in the Courtroom, the judge asked me, Mr. Vargas, is there anything you want to say to the Courtroom? I just stood up and I just said, you know what, your Honor, I’m going to pray for you and I’m going to pray for the DA. I said, I’m going to pray for you both because you know what? While you’re sentencing an innocent man of these crimes, the real criminal is out there committing probably even greater crimes. And you know what? Lo and behold, I found out later on that during the time that I was fighting my case in court, he had committed 11 more crimes of the same nature.

Michael Semanchik:

That’s one of the most frustrating things about cases like these. It’s already tragic when an innocent person is punished for the crimes of the guilty, but when the actual perpetrator is still out there hurting others, it adds another level of contempt. Unfortunately, that additional suffering of others is often what helps our clients the most. When you can show that there is someone else out there committing crimes that match what your client is accused of, the criminal justice system is more likely to listen. We obviously don’t want people to get victimized, but there is no doubt this type of evidence helps free the innocent suffering leads to wrongful incarceration. More suffering leads to freedom. It’s a real catch 22 for the conscience. The California Innocence Project began working on Luis’s case. It would take many years, but Salvation loomed far away on the horizon. DNA samples were sent to compare them to profiles left on evidence from the crime scene before the legal team could advance any further. They would need to see the results to make sure Luis was indeed innocent. If his sample matched what was retrieved from the evidence, he would be stuck in prison for the rest of his life. Here’s how all of that went down.

Luis Vargas:

I got called into the visiting room. Raquel Cohen and Elizabeth Choko came and visited me that one day and they showed me two papers, right?

Michael Semanchik:

Raquel Barilla, formerly Cohen and Alyssa Biko were the attorneys from the California Innocence Project working on Luis’s case. They were about to review the DNA results with him.

Luis Vargas:

They showed me two graphs. The first graph they showed me was a very colorful one full of different numbers, different colors and all that, and they go, do you know what this is? I go, no. And they go, well, this is a DNA graph. Okay? And then they presented another one, which was mine, and they said, this one belongs to the teardrop rapist. Then they went ahead and presented another one, and they said, this is your DNA graph. And they go, what do you see? And I go, they’re nothing I like. And at that moment, Raquel just went ahead and looked at me and said, Vargas, that’s what’s going to get you free. I couldn’t hold back my tears

Michael Semanchik:

From that point forward. It would still take some years to get Luis Vargas out. Even when our client’s DNA is not part of the crime scene evidence, it does not automatically mean they get their freedom. It’s not enough to show a lack of DNA evidence. We have to go further. That’s because crimes can be committed without leaving DNA evidence behind. And convictions can come from more than one type of evidence, and this is where identifying the actual perpetrator helps. When you can in credibly show someone else committed the crime, the prosecution and courts are more willing to work with you. Eventually, the same principle would apply to Luis’s case, and then on November 23rd, 2015, after 17 and a half years, the court would exonerate Luis Lawrence Vargas or toga.

Luis Vargas:

I had gotten sentenced after I lost my case and I was on my way down the 101 North getting ready to go to state prison. I look back and I seen the downtown skyline disappear and my heart just fell. Lo and behold, fast forward 17 and a half years later, I come back and I’m being picked up from Ironwood State Prison heading north on the 10, the 101 and all that, and it was so amazing to me that instead of me seeing the downtown skyline disappear at that moment, I started seeing it appear before me. That right there was so amazing because I knew that my freedom was right around the corner.

Michael Semanchik:

I wish I could tell you that all of Luis Vargas’s legal troubles went away on that wonderful day, but that’s not what happened. Rather than be released to enjoy his freedom, he would remain in confinement. Luis still had lingering issues with his immigration status. He would need to fight one more battle in immigration court.

Luis Vargas:

So at about 1:00 AM in the morning, I went ahead and asked the police officer, Hey, what’s going on with my gate pass? And he goes, oh, well, let me find out. Well, they went ahead and found out that was told 10 minutes later, I have a hold for immigration, and lo and behold, here I am being slapped at handcuffs back again and just being taken to Santa Ana federal detention. All that morning I was sitting there, they took me to a holding tank and they didn’t deport me because I had claimed political asylum. Otherwise, I was not going to have an opportunity to see my attorney or see a judge because the immigration officer just told me directly, you know what? I could deport you right now without you seeing an attorney or seeing a judge. When he said that, my only option was, you know what? In that case, I’m claiming political asylum because I know even though I’m from Mexico, I am afraid to go back to my country because when I was back there, I was being tortured. I was being assaulted by police officers. So if police officers belong to the government, I’m afraid of my government. When I said that, that bought me 48 hours, so they couldn’t deport me anymore, so I was able to speak to some attorneys. CIP grabbed me, an immigration attorney, and lo and behold, here I am. Six months later, I was released.

Michael Semanchik:

There is no doubt that Luis Vargas has tremendous spirit for life, but he also has an incredible ability to forgive. Despite 18 years behind bars plus ongoing immigration troubles, he harbors no resentment for those who misidentified him.

Luis Vargas:

I met one of the victims. I met one of the victims at one of the universities that we went to do a question and answer for him at she was crying with tears in her eyes. She was telling me, you know what? If I would’ve came forward, you would’ve never lost those 18 years. And I just told her, you know what? Don’t be sorry because you know what? You were just a victim as much as I was of a broken system.

Michael Semanchik:

That’s incredibly insightful. Are there people that you are mad at for what happened to you?

Luis Vargas:

No. Honestly, I’m not. Even the district attorney Robin Allen. Even the judge that was conducting my civil hearing, I’m not even mad at him. Wow. It is what it is. I’m just hoping that you know what everything, whatever has to fall into place, falls into place. I just know that somebody has to answer.

Michael Semanchik:

You may have noticed that we ask exonerees what their first meal was after being released from prison. There is probably nothing more community building than sitting down to share a meal. We all need to eat to survive, and what better way to sustain ourselves than to do it with each other? Shared meals won’t solve the world’s many problems, but at least for a while, we’re there living, passing time together in unity.

Luis Vargas:

Everything’s great nowadays. Ever since that one first meal that I had when I got out of prison, it was Carl’s Jr. Bacon Western Cheeseburger. Yeah with some fries and all that. I mean, it was awesome, and I had tasted burgers inside the prison before, but they were nothing like this one. This one had the taste of freedom. It was awesome. That was the first of many good meals to come around, man.

Michael Semanchik:

Wrongful incarceration is a traumatizing experience. It takes everything away from the innocent, their future, their career, their friends, and sometimes their family. The longer someone is behind bars, the more they lose. The journey out is different for every exoneree, and often the person who went in is nothing like the person who comes home. Some people can get back to normal life quickly, whereas others struggle for many years, despite the nebulous road, Luis Vargas found his way back. He is a man of faith and goodwill, although he lost much on the inside when he came out, he invested in his family and community.

Luis Vargas:

My life right now is going great. I work as a cook. I have a good, decent job. Even though I’m going through these immigration proceedings, I’ve been working for over three years already. I’m making a decent living. We bought our own home. We paid off our own home. We’re trying to make some investments. We’re trying to do something good for ourselves. Back to my family, my wife, my daughter, my son. They were saying that they feel very proud that I’m the person that I am now. I’m an ordained minister. I got ordained a year ago. I’m working with the church in Bakersfield, and I’m working with the church also here, right here in Santa Maria, California. I help the pastor out. I preach, I teach, I conduct services, and I’m just looking forward to better things to come.

Michael Semanchik:

Luis is now a life coach for the Hope and Redemption team at the Anti Recidivism Coalition, an organization dedicated to helping formerly and currently incarcerated people. He exemplifies what the human spirit is capable of. The strides he has made since his release are truly astounding, how generous the heart from so much was taken. Thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed this episode produced and written by Laurence Colletti Audio Engineering by Adam Lockwood. Special contribution of music and sound elements by real life exoneree William Michael Dillon. You can find his catalog of work at frameddillon.com. That’s frameddillon.com. Thank you to Clio for their support.

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