On February 6, 1998, a woman was attacked while at work at a plumbing company in Houston, Texas. She was badly beaten and remained in a coma for 10 days.
After waking from the coma, the victim told police she could not identify her attacker, but 10 days later, she whispered the name “Gilbert” and later picked 20-year-old Gilbert Amezquita out of a photo array.
Amezquita had worked at the plumbing company until shortly before the assault. The woman said she had had a verbal altercation with “Gilbert” two days prior to the assault.
The police recovered scrapings from under the victim’s fingernails. The defense and the prosecution requested to delay the trial until DNA testing could be completed, but the judge refused. The scrapings were never tested and were destroyed shortly after trial.
In July 1998, a jury convicted Amezquita of aggravated assault, and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
After Amezquita’s conviction, his new attorney discovered important information that his trial attorney never pursued. The victim’s cell phone had been stolen during the attack, and Amezquita’s trial attorney failed to interview the people who were called after the cell phone was stolen. The attorney later admitted that he had done nothing more than review the court file before the trial.
Amezquita’s new attorney filed a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus in 2000, claiming that police reports provided to the defense prior to the trial identified Christine Allen as someone who had used the phone after the assault.
In 2002, Christine Allen told a district attorney and his investigator that she borrowed the phone from James Wilder, who had bought it from Alonzo “Gilbert” Guerrero. Wilder confirmed Allen’s story.
Guerrero also worked at the plumbing company and had argued with the victim shortly before the attack. In 2003, the trial court recommended that Amezquita receive a new trial. In November 2006, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Amezquita's conviction and granted him a new trial based on the inadequate investigation by his trial attorney.
Amezquita was released on bail on December 15, 2006, and prosecutors dismissed the charges in February 2007.
In May 2007, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended that Amezquita receive a pardon on the basis of actual innocence. In August 2007, Governor Rick Perry pardoned Amezquita. In October 2008, Amezquita received a lump sum of $333,333 in state compensation plus a monthly annuity of $2,475.
– Stephanie Denzel
Posting Date: 08-29-2011
Last Update Date: 02-26-2026
