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The Case of Oscar Eagle
📻 Episode #550
🎙️ Hosted by Lauren Bright Pacheco
📅 Nov 13, 2025
About This Episode
On March 14, 1998, 16-year-old Benjamin Urias was shot in the Pico-Union neighborhood in Los Angeles, CA. The shot was not fatal, but Urias was hospitalized for two days. Urius was member of the 18th Street Gang, and told investigators that the shooter walked with a limp and shouted “Burlington Locos,” the name of another…
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The Case
On March 14, 1998, 16-year-old Benjamin Urias was shot in the Pico-Union neighborhood in Los Angeles, CA. The shot was not fatal, but Urias was hospitalized for two days. Urius was member of the 18th Street Gang, and told investigators that the shooter walked with a limp and shouted “Burlington Locos,” the name of another Los Angeles gang. Four days before the shooting, Oscar Eagle turned 18 years old. And two days before that, Eagle was shot in the leg. He was walking with a limp, and the since disgraced CRASH Unit targeted Eagle. A corrupted photo lineup and identification, coupled with egregiously ineffective counsel resulted in Eagle’s conviction for attempted first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 25 years to life.
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In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts
Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.
00:04:43“Speaker 1: the area's gang will usually be targeted for any crime Speaker 1: that occurs in the area, innocent or not. And most Speaker 1: gang members aren't involved in violent crime at all, like Speaker 1: graffiti artists, but they are painted with the same bra Speaker 1: criminal brush.”
00:16:43“Speaker 4: you know, gang investigators, which is scary for the jury Speaker 4: to hear about gang members in their community. Speaker 3: And I had all two tattoos. Speaker 2: So when I was in trout, they had like poster Speaker 2: size pictures and that's deftly part of the stand and”
00:28:43“Speaker 1: not have committed this crime. Speaker 4: So, although the ineffective assistance of counsel is what led Speaker 4: Oscar to be wrongfully convicted in the first place, Elisa Speaker 4: meant that some of this evidence that we were able Speaker 4: to use to prove his innocence wasn't already used in”
Listen to the Episode
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