LOS ANGELES  — Prosecutors are going to court Friday to seek dismissal of charges against a former gang member convicted of a drive-by murder in a gang infested neighborhood of Los Angeles 19 years ago.

John Edward Smith, who was 18 when he went to prison, was due in court with his lawyers. Sources in the district attorney’s office said that they expect his case against the now 38-year-old Smith to be dismissed.

Smith admitted he was a gang member at the time of the 1993 shooting that killed one man and injured another, but he maintained he was not involved in the shooting and was not present in the area when it happened. He was quickly convicted of murder and attempted murder.

Smith’s exoneration was pursued by Innocence Matters, a Torrance, Calif., public interest law firm. Attorney Deirdre O’Connor, who heads the group, said the sole witness whose testimony convicted Smith recently admitted he had lied at the trial. The witness was the shooting victim who survived.