SAN JOSE, Calif. – A man serving a 105-year prison sentence for a string of violent 2008 gang attacks became a free man this week, when prosecutors dismissed his charges on the eve of a third trial spurred by a scolding appellate ruling last year that threw out his conviction because it improperly hinged on rap songs to brand him a gang member.
Hugo Alexander Chavez, 43, was released from Santa Clara County jail late Wednesday after serving 13 years in jail and prison, during which his first trial ended with a hung jury tilted in favor of acquitting him and his second trial led to a decades-long prison term issued in 2019.
“Throughout this whole time fighting, deep down in my heart, I knew it was going to happen. The whole case was just extraordinary,” Chavez said in an interview Friday. “Right now, I feel extremely overwhelmed. It’s just been nonstop love and affection from my loved ones that missed me and I missed them. And just a lot of catching up, right? Just filling in that gap, and just getting some closure.”…