BUFFALO, N.Y. — After spending 10 years and 22 days behind bars, Josue Ortiz has says he now can truly enjoy his freedom thanks to a jury who found the arresting Buffalo Police Department detective at the time guilty of fabricating evidence and violating Mr. Ortiz' civil rights.
On Monday, a jury in the Western District Federal Court found former BPD detective Mark Stambach guilty of fabricating evidence, which in this civil case was then used to maliciously prosecute Ortiz. They also found Stambach guilty of violating Ortiz' civil rights.
Ortiz was awarded a total of $6.5 million for his wrongful conviction.
Ortiz and his lawyer, Wayne Felle, spoke Wednesday to media and shared the jury's findings.
"Like me, everybody needs to know people are innocent in prison right now. All I got to tell those people is to stay strong, and just think that one day justice will be served," Ortiz said with the support of his family behind him.
Ortiz was arrested back on November 17, 2004, when he was 23 years old and was charged and convicted of murdering Nelson and Miguel Camacho just six days before.
Detective Stambach later admitted there was no other evidence connecting Ortiz to the case other than a closed-room interview where a detailed confession was made supporting the conviction.
"Imagine the decision to make as an innocent person," Felle said. "He was forced to take a plea that meant only 25 years of his life in jail and I say 'only' in quotation marks."
In 2012, the U.S. Attorney's office announced they found the three individuals who were actually responsible for murdering the Camacho brothers and as a result of their thorough investigation Ortiz was released on December 9, 2014.
But both Ortiz and his team knew he wanted more than just his freedom; he wanted those responsible for wrongfully putting him behind bars to be held accountable for their actions: Stambach, Buffalo Police, and The City of Buffalo.
And on Monday, that happened.
"He was found guilty of the fabrication of evidence count and the count of malicious prosecution," Felle said referring to Stambach.
As this was a civil case, no criminal charges have been filed against Stambach at this time.
Currently, he works as an investigator for the Erie County DA's Office who tells 2 On Your Side, "It's our understanding his attorney will be filing a post-judgment motion and then an appeal if necessary."
As this case is still pending, the District Attorney has no further comment at this time.