INDIO -- Murder charges were dismissed Thursday against a former head of security for the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians accused of killing a tribal leader and two other people in 1981, because prosecutors said they lacked evidence to go to trial. Just before 9p.m. Thursday he walked out of the Indio jail a free man.

UNCUT: Jimmy Hughes Interview

James "Jimmy" Hughes, who later founded Jimmy Hughes Ministries in Honduras, had been charged with murder and conspiracy in the deaths of Ralph Arthur Boger, 42, Patricia Roberta Castro, 44, and Fred Alfred Alvarez, 32, who was vice chairman of the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians Tribal Council. They were found dead July 1, 1981, at 35040 Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage.

Hughes was accused of conspiring with three other men to commit the murders to keep Alvarez from exposing alleged illegal activities by the tribe's casino founder, John Philip Nichols.

Hughes was arrested Sept. 26 at Miami International Airport and denied bail for nearly nine months, but Deputy Attorney General Mike Murphy told Riverside Superior Court Judge Dale R. Wells that prosecutors reviewed the evidence and "lost confidence to proceed in the prosecution in this case."

Wells agreed to dismiss the charges over the objection of Boger's daughter, Rachel Begley, who stood up in court and told Hughes, "I hope that your short time in jail has given you time to repent.

"I will not give up seeking the truth and justice for my dad, Fred and Patty," she said.

Hughes, whose family gave each other hugs and praised God following the hearing, was expected to be released from jail today.

His son, 18-year-old Joshua James Hughes, told City News Service outside court that his family plans to return to Honduras "in good time."

"Thank you Jesus. That's pretty much all. I can just thank the Lord, justice prevailed," Joshua said.

His mother, Jessica Hughes, said she had "no doubt" of her husband's innocence.

"God rules over everything," she said.

During the hearing, Murphy outlined a history of the case, which went cold shortly after the shootings.

In the mid 1980s more investigation was conducted in the case.

"Those investigative efforts led to the empaneling of a grand jury ... (which) did not result in any arrests or any prosecution at that time," the prosecutor said.

Nearly 20 years lapsed before new documents and evidence surfaced in 2007, leading to another investigation and a murder charge against Hughes.

"We agreed there was sufficient evidence to charge (Hughes)," Murphy said.

Problems began emerging when the state Attorney General's Office began to review the evidence for a preliminary hearing, he said.

Original files with "some old evidence" were found, and "key witnesses" were interviewed that led to the development of "new information that was not previously known to law enforcement," Murphy said. "Frankly, our assessment of the quality and nature of the evidence changed."

Begley said outside court that she was disappointed in the "prosecutorial misconduct" that resulted in the charges being dismissed.

"We're not done, just like I told Hughes," she said.