A judge signed a dismissal of charges Thursday against a man who was convicted for a 1995 murder and subsequently imprisoned for 26 years.
Evaristo Junior Salas, 42, was charged with shooting and killing Jose Arreola, then 24, while he sat in a convenience store parking lot in his truck in November nearly 28 years ago. While Salas was 15 at the time, he was tried as an adult and convicted to 33 years in prison. A three-day period of testimonies regarding the court proceeding back in the nineties was enough for Yakima County Prosecutor Joe Brusic to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning Salas cannot face charges regarding the matter again.
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The Washington Innocence Project was in collaboration with Salas's lead counsel Laura Shaver since 2019. This nonprofit group credited Shaver’s cross-examination of the lead detective involved for ultimately vacating her client's previous conviction.
"We are humbled by Junior’s grace in the face of a lifetime of injustice, thrilled for his family that he will finally be back with them where he belongs, and heartbroken for the family of Jose Arreola who have not seen justice," the Washington Innocent Project posted on Facebook. "We look forward to formally welcoming Junior to Washington Innocence Project’s Freed Family!"
Salas's original attorney, George Trejo, testified that the prosecutors at the time withheld evidence from him. For example, police were able to take possession of Salas's truck, but Trejo was never informed that police were able to do so with the cooperation of Salas's girlfriend at the time.
Thursday, Brusi admitted the cast against Salas “has weakened considerably, beyond what would normally be expected with the passage of over 25 years since the case was originally prosecuted” in a motion.
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There is no other suspect in the case of Arreola's murder.
In Washington, 39% of exonerations involve police or prosecutor misconduct, according to the Washington Innocence Project.