Pasadena Court of Appeals Upholds Ruling to Free ‘Innocent’ Man Jailed for 14 Years

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena upheld Monday the 2010 federal court decision which freed a man who was jailed for 14 years for a crime he claimed he did not commit.

The court of appeals said Daniel Larsen, 46, held a strong case for being innocent amid the prosecutors’ argument that he missed the deadline for paper works in his bid for freedom, the Republic reported.

In June 1998, the police responded to a report of a deadly weapon in progress with shots fired in the parking lot in front of the Gold Apple Bar. The suspect was described as having a gun, was wearing a green flannel shirt, and had a long ponytail, but the police confronted Larsen, who had a closely shaven head and did not match the description.

The two responding police officers said they saw Larsen reach into his waistband, pull out a metallic object, and throw it under a nearby car. The police searched Larsen and the surrounding area and found a six-inch double-edged knife underneath the car.

Larsen was given a 28-year to life imprisonment verdict in 1999 under the controversial three-strikes law of California for bringing a concealed dagger.

A federal judge then overturned the lower court’s decision in 2010 stating that Larsen’s constitutional rights had been violated due to having an incompetent attorney.

Witnesses brought by the California Innocence Project attorneys testified  seeing another man throw away the knife. The Project attorneys also stated that Edward Consiglio, Larsen’s former lawyer, had nine witnesses but did not present anyone. In 2008, Consiglio was disbarred due to repeated disciplinary actions.

Larsen still stayed in prison for two more years before being freed this March.