A man and a woman who spent more than 17 years in prison for an East Hollywood murder had their convictions vacated, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Monday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan also ordered the immediate release of Charlotte Pleytez and Lombardo Palacios who were imprisoned for the 2007 murder.

“I want to extend my deepest apologies to Ms. Pleytez and Mr. Palacios for the years of hardship they endured due to these wrongful convictions,” Hochman stated. “I also want to recognize the tragic loss of Hector Luis Flores and share my heartfelt condolences with his family. His death is a painful reminder of the heavy responsibility we bear to ensure justice not only holds the right people accountable but also honors the lives of victims and their families.”

Flores was fatally shot during a verbal altercation in a shopping center parking lot in the 5200 block of Sunset Boulevard on March 28, 2007.

Pleytez and Palacios were arrested following eyewitness identifications and other circumstantial evidence, the DA’s Office stated.

Palacios and Pleytez were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 50 years to life in prison but years later, the DA’s Office was asked to revisit the case.

“We are reluctant to say justice has been done, because the injustices our clients have suffered for nearly two decades are unfathomable, but this is definitely a cause for celebration,” said attorney Matt Lombard.

The District Attorney said that there was no evidence to suggest that law enforcement or prosecutors acted inappropriately during the case. “The request for relief in this case was based entirely on new evidence uncovered by the joint CRU and defense investigation,” Hochman stated.

The influx of migrants into the U.S. in 2024 drove the population to its highest rate of increase in 23 years, as the nation’s population surpassed 340 million, according to a report Thursday from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Between 2023 and 2024, the U.S. population grew by nearly 1%, the highest increase since 2001. In contrast, the 0.2% growth rate in 2021 was a record low at the height of pandemic restrictions on travel into the U.S., the annual population estimates show.

This year, immigration increased by almost 2.8 million people, in part due to a new method of counting that adds people who were admitted for humanitarian reasons.

Net international migration, which the Census Bureau says refers to any change of residence across U.S. borders, was a critical component of the change driving growth in the residential population.

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This photo shows migrants at the southern border encountered in Arizona. (U.S. Border Patrol)

Net international migration accounted for 84% of the nation’s 3.3 million person increase last year.

The increase reflects a continued trend of rising international migration, with a net increase of 1.7 million in 2022 and 2.3 million in 2023.

“Improved integration of federal data sources on immigration has enhanced our estimates methodology,” Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for Estimates and Projections, said. “With this update, we can better understand how the recent increase in international migration is impacting the country’s overall population growth.”

Last year, births outnumbered deaths in the U.S. by almost 519,000, which was an increase over the historic low of 146,000 in 2021, but still well below the high points of the previous decades.

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A Haitian migrant approved for humanitarian parole cheers as he boards a bus taking migrants into the U.S. at the Senda de Vida shelter Aug. 30, 2022, in Reynosa, Mexico. (Michael Nigro/Getty Images)

The U.S. Census Bureau did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the report.

Along with immigration statistics, the report showed that the south was the fastest-growing region in the U.S. in 2024, adding 1.8 million people, more residents than all other regions combined.

Texas saw the biggest increase with 562,941 new residents, followed by Florida, which gained 467,347 new residents.

Washington, D.C., had the nation’s fastest growth rate at 2.2%.

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Migrants wait in line to enter a shelter set up by authorities for migrants as migrants wait for an appointment through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, May 23, 2023.  (Christian Torres Chavez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Some states — Mississippi, Vermont and West Virginia — lost population in 2024, though in small amounts ranging from 127 to 516 people.

Those included in the international migration estimates this year are a group of people who entered the U.S. through the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole, which has been harshly criticized by Republicans.

The Migration Policy Institute based in Washington, D.C., reported last week that over 5.8 million people were admitted under various humanitarian policies from 2021 to 2024.

But capturing the number of new immigrants is a challenging aspect of U.S. population estimates.

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The bureau’s annual calculation of how many migrants entered the United States in the 2020s has been much lower than the numbers cited by other federal agencies, such as the Congressional Budget Office. The Census Bureau estimated 1.1 million immigrants had entered the United States in 2023, while the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate was 3.3 million people. 

With the revised method, last year’s immigration figures are now recalculated by the Census Bureau to almost 2.3 million people, or an additional 1.1 million people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.

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SEAL BEACH, Calif. (KTLA) – Family, friends and colleagues gathered Sunday in Seal Beach to honor the life of Connor Lees, a firefighter with the Los Angeles Fire Department who died earlier this month during a recreational free dive.  

The Dec. 5 incident occurred when Lees, 29, and three other divers in their 20’s went for a free dive, which entails a person holding their breath for as long as they can while diving without scuba gear, in the waters off Long Beach, the Los Angeles Times reported.  

Long Beach Fire spokesperson Brian Fisk told The Times one of the men was presumably piloting the small watercraft while the others were free diving, adding that only two of the three returned from the dive.  

The three men called for emergency help just before 10 a.m., launching a multi-agency search with divers from the U.S. Coast Guard, LAFD, L.A. County Fire, LBPD and the L.A. Port Police.

More than 19 hours after the search began, officials made the difficult decision to transition from a search and rescue mission to a recovery mission.  

“The decision to transition operations to a recovery mission is not taken lightly,” LBFD said in a post to Instagram. “As we make this transition, our thoughts and prayers continue for the family of the missing diver and for our brothers and sisters at the Los Angeles City Fire Department.”  

Officials told The Times that investigators did not suspect foul play, and that Lees was believed to be lost at sea.  

Lees, who grew up in Seal Beach and was a six-year veteran of LAFD, was remembered Sunday night as something of an institution in the community, one whose untimely and tragic death has affected so many that knew him.  

Friends said the 29-year-old loved the ocean and the beach and that the place he grew up was the perfect spot to honor lasting memory.