Free, but suffering
Rap nixed after 3 yrs.
A QUEENS MAN who spent nearly three years in jail on a murder charge that was later dropped remains haunted by his experiences at the scandalscarred Rikers Island.
Juan Tenesaca, an Ecuadoran national who came to the United States 15 years ago in order to support his daughter back home, said he endured beatings and lived under the constant threat of violence at the city jail.
“There was a gang of 30 people that try to take away your food. You have a right to make a phone call daily and sometimes they take it away from you. If you don’t accept, they will beat you and mistreat you physically,” Tenesaca said.
“To be OK, you have to humiliate yourself. And if you resist you’re going to have to fight.”
Tenesaca, 35, was released on June 17 from jail after prosecutors agreed to drop charges for the September 2012 murder of Juan Gustavo Mishqui Coro after the key witness in the case — the DA’s main evidence — disappeared in Mexico.
Tenesaca maintained his innocence the whole time. Speaking to The News after his release, Tenesaca did not smile even when asked about his regained freedom.
“In prison, it’s like being dead alive,” he said. “You can never be in peace.”
Tenesaca said he’s lost every possession he owned, his job as a construction worker, and most painfully, the trust of some of his family and friends.
“Right now what I have is what you see me with right now,” he said, with his lawyer Roger Asmar translating.
“After 15 years being in this country, working hard to help my family, help my parents and at the end all I gave them was for them to suffer.”
Tenesaca is currently crashing with friends night by night.
Prosecutors dropped the charges against Tenesaca after pressure from a judge, but still said they believed they had the right man.
Tenesaca’s civil attorney, Craig Davidowitz, said he plans to file a lawsuit against all responsible parties from the city.