The companion resource to the Wrongful Conviction podcast

The Case of Franky Carrillo

πŸ“» Episode #556 πŸŽ™οΈ Hosted by Jason Flom πŸ“… Thu, 08 Jan 2026 πŸ“ California
Still Imprisoned

The Case

On January 18, 1991, six teenage boys were standing on a curb talking in front of a house in the Los Angeles, CA suburb of Lynwood. Donald Sarpy, the father of one of the boys, stepped onto the driveway to call his son inside when a car drove by and two shots were fired, killing Sarpy. 16-year-old Francisco β€œFranky” Carrillo Jr. became a suspect in the case after he was mistakenly identified by the police as the shooter in separate case. On the night of the Sarpy shooting, the police showed one of the eyewitnesses a picture of Carrillo. That witness later identified Carrillo as the shooter and told the five other witnesses to identify Carrillo as the shooter. There was no physical evidence linking Carrillo to the crime. However, all the eyewitnesses identified Carrillo as the shooter and testified to the identification. Franky was convicted of murder, attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison.

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Listen to the Episode

Episode #556 of the Wrongful Conviction podcast β€” hosted by Jason Flom

πŸ”Š How You Can Help

If Franky is still fighting for justice, your voice matters. Consider sharing this case on social media, signing any active petitions, or contacting your representatives about wrongful conviction reform.

About the Wrongful Conviction Podcast

The Wrongful Conviction podcast, hosted by Jason Flom and Khaliah Ali (daughter of Muhammad Ali), has featured over 500 cases of men and women who spent years β€” sometimes decades β€” in prison for crimes they did not commit. The podcast has been downloaded over 70 million times and has directly influenced exonerations, clemencies, and criminal justice reform legislation across the country.