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LAPD scandal witness may be released in June
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Former Los Angeles police officer Rafael Perez, the key witness in the city's ongoing police corruption scandal, is expected to be released from jail in June unless federal authorities file a criminal case against him, it was announced Friday. During a court hearing, state prosecutors indicated that Perez is "no longer available" to testify further about corruption because of a possible federal civil rights case against him. Perez has been serving his term in a secluded Los Angeles County jail facility where investigators had easy access to him.
Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Richard Rosenthal said he asked a California judge to transfer Perez to state prison because of his refusal to cooperate further. But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry, citing concerns for the police officer's safety, ruled that Perez will remain in jail until his release. Perry also cited assurances from Perez's lawyer, Winston Kevin McKesson, that Perez is "willing and able to testify in court and further cooperate with the federal government." Perez is serving a five-year prison term as part of a plea agreement after he was caught stealing eight pounds of cocaine from a police evidence locker. In exchange, he agreed to help prosecutors identify corruption within the anti-gang unit. His plea agreement includes immunity from state prosecution, but does not include federal immunity, sources tell CNN. Since September 1999, Perez has provided over 4,000 pages of testimony describing how he and other officers in the Rampart Division's anti-gang unit routinely planted drugs and guns on suspects, fabricated arrest reports, beat suspects in custody and in some cases shot unarmed innocent people. Federal authorities launched a civil rights investigation after Perez admitted he and his former partner, Nino Durden, shot Javier Francisco Ovando and planted a gun on him in 1996. Ovando, paralyzed from the shooting, was convicted of assaulting the officers. He was released after serving nearly three years in prison and recently settled the largest civil lawsuit in city history, $15 million. Perez's plea agreement with state prosecutors has thus far led to criminal charges against five officers, including an attempted murder charge against Durden. The scandal has led to more than 100 criminal convictions being overturned and the city of Los Angeles signing a consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department requiring federal oversight of the police department's management and training policies. RELATED STORIES: Judge throws out conviction of three officers in L.A. police scandal RELATED SITES: Department of Justice proposed consent decree |
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