District Attorney – Attorney Legal Counsel

DA Challenging Raft of Criminal Cases Being Dismissed by Judges

attorneylegalcounsel99 — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 09:25:33 +0000

(CNS) – Riverside County prosecutors are scrambling to re- file complaints and submit motions challenging judges’ decisions to dismiss hundreds of criminal cases countywide, in what District attorney Mike Hestrin said Monday is fast becoming a “public safety crisis.”

According to the District attorney’s Office, judges have booted just over 500 felony and misdemeanor cases since the second week of October, citing a lack of available courtroom space for trials. Most of the cases were added to dockets during the COVID public health lockdowns, when courts suspended many operations under emergency orders from the California Office of the Chief Justice.

A backlog of roughly 2,800 cases developed. The chief justice’s orders expired on Oct. 7.

“The dismissal of cases and thus allowing criminals back into our community with no consequences for their actions is a danger to everyone,” Hestrin said. “The consequences of the decisions being made from our judges is going to cause extreme harm to victims of crime and our community at-large. This is a public safety crisis, and it needs to stop.”

Felony cases that judges have unilaterally disposed of include those of Steven James Flores and Paul Phillip Powers. In the Flores matter, which originated in the Coachella Valley, he was charged with attempted murder, assault on a peace officer, firearm assault and robbery. In the Powers case, from the Riverside area, he was charged with a hate crime and multiple acts of vandalism.

Prosecutors are re-filing charges against both men, effectively restarting the clock, going back to arraignment. In other matters, prosecutors have filed appeals to have cases reinstated.

“These are cases in which our office has witnesses gathered and has announced that we are ready to begin jury trial,” according to the D.A.’s office. “However, the Superior Court does not have a judge available to hear the case so, rather than granting a short continuance until a trial courtroom becomes available, judges have chosen to dismiss criminal cases and release the accused perpetrators back into the community.”

The majority of cases being dismissed stem from alleged acts of domestic violence.

“When a judge dismisses a domestic violence case, they also terminate the victim’s criminal protective order. This is nothing less than an injustice and a disservice to the victims and to public safety,” Hestrin said.

The state constitution entitles defendants to receive a speedy disposition of their cases at trial.

Superior Court Presiding Judge John Monterosso released a statement on Oct. 25 acknowledging the court system was bearing a heavy load, traced to the lockdowns and consequent changes in court operations.

“I share others’ frustration when a case is not resolved on the merits, or due process is impaired, due to a lack of available judicial resources,” Monterosso said. “The genesis of the current set of circumstances is the chronic and generational lack of judges allocated to serve Riverside County.”

He emphasized that the county has 90 authorized and funded judicial positions, but a 2020 Judicial Needs Assessment Study noted that 115 judicial officers are needed to ensure efficient operations throughout the local court system and prevent logjams.

“The dispensing of statutory timelines for criminal trials under the emergency orders delayed the `day in court’ for numerous criminal defendants and those impacted by the alleged crimes,” Monterosso said. “While the law allows a court to continue a case beyond the statutory deadline for `good cause,’ the decision on whether `good cause’ exists is an individualized decision made by the trial judge based on the law and the facts of the case.”

Hestrin questioned the legitimacy of basing dismissals on a deficit of judicial resources, given that “this has been the case as far back as anyone can remember.”

Monterosso said judges are redoubling efforts to accommodate trial requests, often times summoning prospective jurors for screening late on weekdays to courtrooms where juries in other matters are still deliberating.

However, Hestrin said last month, 500 prospective jurors slated to be assigned courtrooms were sent home, with judges refusing to entertain requests for “brief” postponements until courtrooms became available.

“If we have an emergency in our courts that justifies a dismissal of a felony, then it should be an emergency in every courtroom across the county and should justify an all-hands-on-deck approach to trying cases,” the county’s top prosecutor said.

The current backlog is reminiscent of the cumulative impact of a buildup of unresolved criminal cases in 2007 that prompted the state to dispatch a “judicial strike team” to the county to help sort through criminal cases clogging the court system.

At the time, the Superior Court virtually halted civil jury trials for months while judges focused on reducing the strain on resources. An empty elementary school was even converted into a makeshift courthouse.

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LA County District Attorney George Gascón, running for reelection, says ‘We’re in a much better place’

attorneylegalcounsel99 — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 08:57:20 +0000

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — In an interview with ABC7 on Monday, incumbent Los Angeles District attorney George Gascón, who is seeking reelection, said “We’re in a much better place today than we were four years ago.”

Gascón faces a record number of challengers — 11 — in the primary next month as he seeks a second term. Gascón’s challengers have run campaigns against the incumbent rather than against one another, and the large field could help Gascón.

Why so many candidates? A USC-Dornsife poll conducted last month found 51% of voters disapprove of the job Gascón is doing.

“We’re dealing with violence, and in fact violence has come down which clearly indicates that the work were doing doesn’t cause crime to go up,” said Gascón. “We’re also addressing the issues of over-incarceration, issues of equity within the system. That creates a certain level of anxiety for some people. And for some people, it creates an opportunity.”

According to Gascón, all of his challengers want to take us backwards, but he believes the reforms he’s brought to L.A. County will result in crime continuing to go down after it went up during the pandemic. Gascón admits he got off to a rough start.

“A very difficult first year,” said Gascón. “We’re not there anymore, and a lot of what you see right now is still people thinking about what happened in 2021 as opposed to what is happening in 2024.”

But property crime, smash and grab robberies, and the proliferation of homeless encampments are some of the reasons why residents of L.A. County say they still don’t feel safe. Some believe Gascón favors criminals over victims.

“It’s not that we’re not prosecuting or sending people to prison,” said Gascón. “People may be going now for 5, 10, 15 20 years as opposed to 30,40,50, but they’re in prison. Even if you’re of the belief that I was wrong in that approach, you’re going to have to wait several years to see how that plays out. Right now, all the signs that we know about lengthy incarceration shows we’re probably heading in the right direction.”

The primary is several months away, and many eyes are on the race to replace Los Angeles County District attorney George Gascón.

Gascón believes he gets blamed for many issues that are not under his jurisdiction, saying he doesn’t have a stack of misdemeanors sitting on his desk and he doesn’t believe Proposition 47 has made us less safe. He also maintains he’s not responsible for the homeless crisis.

“Until we create more housing, until we deal with the issues of mental health, neither the city attorney or district attorney will be able to cure these problems,” said Gascón.

If a candidate in the D.A.’s race doesn’t receive more than 50% of the vote in the march 5th primary, there will be a runoff between the top two finishers. It’s highly unlikely a candidate will receive more than 50% because of how large the field is.

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LA County race for district attorney: Candidates focus of future and county needs during debate in downtown Los Angeles

attorneylegalcounsel99 — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 05:18:18 +0000

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — As the race to replace Los Angeles County District attorney George Gascón heats up, candidates are focusing on the future and the needs of the county.

Nine candidates along with Gascón himself attended a debate Thursday night hosted by LA Magazine.

The list of challengers included former federal prosecutors Jeff Chemerinsky and Nathan Hochman, prosecutors Jonathan Hatami, Maria Ramirez, Eric Siddall, and John McKinney, judges Debra Archuleta and Craig Mitchell, and retired judge David Milton.

The candidates jumped into the race during a volatile term for Gascón, who was elected in 2020 over incumbent Jackie Lacey as he promised a wave of reforms. But once some of those reforms were being implemented, there was a sharp backlash from the public, tying those changes to an increase in crime in the region.

He’s also been accused of being soft on crime with the implementation of a zero bail policy and directives to not prosecute certain cases.

But if Gascón could start this term over, what would he do differently?

“Probably dealing with COVID and how we addressed it,” he told ABC7. “There are a lot of things I would do differently today in terms of communication, but there was no blueprint on how to deal with this.”

He said those directives that have been criticized “played an important role.”

When it comes to communication, some prosecutors in Gascón’s office have issues with that, too.

“He came into an office that he was elected to lead and ignored his staff, ignored our opinions. He is ignoring the very people he was elected to lead,” said Ramirez, a Boyle Heights native who feels her upbringing sets her apart as she climbed the ranks under Lacey, who promoted her to run the Bureau of Specialized Prosecutions.

Siddall would rather not look back, hoping to modernize the department in the future.

“Building up a division within our office in the Bureau of Investigation that collects intelligence and focuses on the people who are the drivers of crime,” he said.

Chemerinsky believes his work prosecuting violent and organized crime at the federal level makes him best suited for the county’s current needs.

Fellow and now former federal prosecutor Hochman says he has that and more.

“Thirty-four years of experience that I will pit against George Gascón or any other challenger,” said Hochman.

The primary is in march and the top two finishers as long as a candidate doesn’t get more than 50% of the vote, regardless of their political party, will move on to the runoff in November of next year.

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9 suspects arrested amid crackdown on burglary ring in Orange County, sheriff and DA say

attorneylegalcounsel99 — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 19:55:13 +0000

SANTA ANA, Calif. (CNS) — Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes and Orange County District attorney Todd Spitzer Thursday issued a stern warning to thieves targeting Orange County as they discussed details of a crackdown on a burglary ring they say was responsible for nearly three dozen break-ins.

Nine suspects were rounded up in a sweep on Wednesday, with law enforcement still seeking 11 more suspects. Prosecutors have charged 20, including five juveniles, in connection with a burglary ring tied to 34 break- ins across the county, with an estimated loss of about $500,000 in cash, weapons and valuables.

Barnes told reporters it was the result of “months of hard work,” starting in September when authorities began working a case involving three residential burglaries, two in unincorporated Santa Ana and one in Yorba Linda. That prompted a team of investigators to work on building a bigger case, Barnes said.

Fullerton police have been investigating 19 burglaries, with the rest being handled by sheriff’s deputies, Barnes said.

The 20 defendants have ties to Los Angeles-based gangs, Barnes and Spitzer said.

The thieves are “organized” and have utilize sophisticated methods involving monitoring social media messages to see who is out of town, surveillance of affluent homes to get patterns of coming and going of residents and even breaking in through a second-floor balcony to avoid security system motion detectors, Barnes said.

Spitzer said the gangs are recruiting juveniles to help with the heists because they tend to face lesser punishment from the system because of their age.

Family held at gunpoint during home-invasion robbery in Rancho Cucamonga, authorities say

A family was held at gunpoint during an early-morning home invasion in Rancho Cucamonga, authorities said.

During the sweep this week, law enforcement recovered seven guns, two of which were stolen, multiple high-capacity magazines and $40,000 in cash, jewelry and handbags, Barnes said.

He said he hopes residents “can sleep a little better” knowing the thieves were arrested.

“To the criminals associated with these crews, we will find you, we will arrest you,” Barnes said. “And you will do your time in Orange County… You’re not going to get out next week.”

The sheriff reminded residents to make sure they lock all their doors and windows, consider padlocking side gates, which are popular points of entry for thieves, and ensuring their homes are well lit. He added that putting lights on a timer and installing a security system with cameras will also help steer thieves away.

Spitzer said Orange County was “different than other counties in California,” in that law enforcement “cares deeply about victims” and will push for stiffer punishments of defendants.

“We still believe that people should go to state prison when appropriate,” Spitzer said.

As he has in the past, Spitzer criticized efforts to reduce jail and prison overcrowding. Spitzer said his office understands extending some mercy to first-time offenders, but he wants to crack down on recidivists.

“If you’re going to commit crimes in Orange County, you’ve got to know we’ll handle it differently here,” Spitzer said.

“We believe in some reforms,” Spitzer said. “But when it comes to hardcore crimes, we’re putting our feet down.”

Spitzer said the burglary ring is a “dangerous, prolific crew.”

The defendants charged in the ring include:

–Deautri Hamilton, 30, of Los Angeles;

–Jesus Alberto Guerra, 29, of Los Angeles;

–Javier Guerrero, 31, of Los Angeles;

–Michael Jason Serrano, 21, of Los Angeles;

–Tyrell Benyon Haley, 23, of Compton;

–Michael Jason Serrano, 21, of Los Angeles;

–Nathaniel Eric Roberts, 25, of Los Angeles;

–Jeris Je Young Abalos, 34, of Los Angeles;

–Tahj Kamare Richardson, 21, of Los Angeles;

–Keven Von Claudell Holland, 35, of Los Angeles;

–Kadin Isaiah Williams, 22, of Lakewood;

–Jamari Nijie Devon Manning, 19, of Los Angeles;

–Quaion Jayvion McClenton, 23, of Compton;

–Deion Robert Franklin, 19, of Los Angeles;

–Mika Mark McGee, 20, of Compton and;

–Joshua Jeremiah Rivas, 20, of Los Angeles.

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District Attorney’s Office dismisses capital murder charge for alleged mastermind of murder-for-hire plot

attorneylegalcounsel99 — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 15:47:11 +0000

SAN ANTONIO – In a surprise move on Monday afternoon, the District attorney’s Office dropped the capital murder charge for a woman who was accused of being the mastermind behind a murder-for-hire plot in 2019.

According to online court records, Christina Rodriguez, who was already a convicted felon, had her case dismissed due to insufficient evidence and was released from jail late Monday.

Rodriguez along with her husband Manuel Cantu and brother-in-law John Cantu were all arrested and charged with capital murder after Mike Perez was found dead on a road on the South Side.

John Cantu, the trigger man, went on trial in this case in September. During the trial, a woman named Carmen Hernandez told the jury she not only witnessed Rodriguez plan the murder and pay John Cantu $500, but also witnessed the murder taking place.

John Cantu was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 70 years in prison.

John Cantu is charged with capital murder in the 2019 shooting death of Mike Perez. (KSAT)

Manuel Cantu on Monday, also had his capital murder charge dismissed and he was given an eight-year plea deal on the lesser charge of tampering with a human corpse.

Recently the lead prosecutor on this case, Andrew Fields resigned from the District attorney’s Office and the case was assigned new prosecutors.

KSAT 12 on Tuesday morning reached out to the District attorney’s Office asking why Rodriguez’s case was dismissed and if Field’s resignation had anything to do with it. We are awaiting their response.

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