On April 27, 1990, a woman in her 50s was grabbed by a man as she stood outside the door of her apartment in Uvalde, Texas. The man pulled her inside, covered her face with a pillow, and raped her.
The woman called the police and was taken to ahospital, where a rape kit was taken.
She described her attacker as a Hispanic man about 6 feet tall and wearing a white cap, a gray T-shirt and shorts. She helped police create a sketch of her attacker. Although police questioned a man who was seen nearby wearing clothes similar to this description, no arrest was made.
Over the next several months, the victim viewed a police book of mugshots and three photographic lineups that included a photograph of 35-year-old Gilbert Alejandro. However, she was unable to make an identification.
She was later shown a lineup of sketches of suspects that included the sketch of Alejandro that she had helped create months earlier. She identified Alejandro. On December 12, 1990, Alejandro was arrested and put in a live lineup. The victim identified him as her attacker.
Alenjandro was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault.
In October 1990, Alejandro went to trial in October 1990 in Uvalde County District Court. The victim identified him as her attacker.
Fred Zain, a forensic analyst who formerly worked for the West Virginia State Police crime laboratory, testified for the prosecution. In 1989, Zain had become the chief analyst of physical evidence for the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office. Zain told the jury that he had conducted DNA testing that identified Alejandro’s DNA profile. During cross-examination, Zain reiterated his findings and pronounced that he was positive of his findings and his testimony.
Alejandro’s mother testified that he was at home with her at the time of the crime.
In October 1990, the jury convicted Alejandro of aggravated criminal sexual assault. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
In 1992, Glen Woodall , who had been convicted in 1987 of two rapes in Cabell County, West Virginia, was exonerated by DNA testing. Evidence showed that Zain had testified falsely about the serology results in the case. That case caused others convicted in West Virginia based on Zain’s testimony to seek similar DNA testing.
On November 10, 1993, the West Virginia Supreme Court ordered a review of all cases handled by Zain, concluding that Zain had fabricated evidence in more than 100 cases between 1986 and 1989.
An attorney for Alejandro subsequently sought a re-examination of the evidence in Alejandro’s case. The review showed Zain had not completed his testing when he issued his report and testified. The testing had been completed after Alejandro’s trial and showed that Alejandro was excluded as the source of sperm found on the victim’s clothing.
Based on these test results, a motion was filed to vacate his conviction. The motion was granted on July 11, 1994 and Alejandro was released.
On September 21, 1994, the prosecution dismissed the case.
Alejandro subsequently filed a civil lawsuit that was settled for $250,000.
Bexar County had fired Zain in 1993. In July 1994, he was indicted in West Virginia on charges of perjury. That same month, he was indicted in Bexar County on charges of perjury, evidence tampering and fabricating evidence in Alejandro’s case.
The West Virginia case went to trial first and a mistrial was declared in September 2001 when the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. Zain died in 2002 before he could be retried or go to trial in Texas.
– Maurice Possley
Posting Date: 08-29-2011
Last Update Date: 02-24-2026
