More convictions overturned in LAPD probe
Grand jury hears testimony
from officers
April 21, 2000
Web posted at: 2:53 a.m. EDT (0653 GMT)
In this story:
'Glad this is done and over with'
Officers were 'bystanders' to shooting, say
sources
Perez claimed ambulance call was delayed
RELATED STORIES, SITES
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A Superior Court judge in Los Angeles has overturned seven more criminal convictions in connection with the Los Angeles Police Department corruption scandal, after prosecutors determined the convictions were based on police misconduct by former Officer Rafael Perez.
And CNN has learned that several Los Angeles police officers testified on Thursday before a grand jury in connection with the criminal investigation of the LAPD.
Perez, who has been cooperating with investigators as part of a plea bargain for stealing cocaine from evidence, has revealed a wide range of alleged police misconduct -- from planting evidence, to framing and even shooting innocent people.
Thursday's dismissals were based on recent sworn statements by Perez, in which he admits police reports were falsified in the cases of Carlos Romero, Samuel Nolasco, Maria Virula, Gregorio Vasquez and Monique Therese Cottalorda. He also admitted planting drugs on Rene Vriones, and planting a gun on Rene Mationg.
'Glad this is done and over with'
After the court proceedings, 23-year old Mationg concurred that he was framed by Perez, and "was glad ... all this is done and over with."
The former Temple Street gang member also claimed he was targeted by Perez after being acquitted in a previous unrelated murder case -- a case in which Perez testified against him.
In a written statement, Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti said, "We are committed to getting to the bottom of the ... scandal, and our priorities remain the same: to free anyone who is wrongfully imprisoned and to put together cases that will lead to the successful prosecution of corrupt police officers."
To date, 67 defendants have had their cases set aside as a result of the scandal.
Officers were 'bystanders' to shooting, say sources
No criminal charges have been filed since the scandal unfolded last year, but sources close to the investigation told CNN that officers have testified as witnesses in at least one shooting that involved an officer, which Perez called a "dirty" shooting.
Most of the officers called before the grand jury were "bystanders" to that shooting, sources indicated.
Perez has been cooperating with investigators in exchange for a plea bargain with government prosecutors after a felony cocaine conviction last year.
In sworn statements published in the Los Angeles Times, Perez said officers from the Rampart Division went to an apartment building on July 20, 1996, searching for gang members suspected of planning a retaliatory attack for a fatal drive-by shooting the night before.
According to Perez there was a shootout in which police fired 10 rounds that led to the killing of 21-year-old Juan Manuel Saldana and the wounding of two others.
Perez claimed ambulance call was delayed
Perez said officers deliberately delayed calling an ambulance for the wounded while they concocted a story and fabricated evidence, including planting a gun on Saldana.
In a videotape obtained by CNN, Perez can be seen congregating with fellow officers shortly after the shooting.
Winston Kevin McKesson, Perez's attorney, told CNN that Perez was telling the truth, but several attorneys representing the officers implicated in the scandal told CNN that Perez was lying to avoid a lengthy prison sentence.
CNN has also learned that a police sergeant who supervised the Rampart's gang-suppression unit and was present at the shooting has also appeared before the grand jury. An attorney for the officer declined to comment on why a subpoena was issued.
In a LAPD Board of Inquiry report, released in March, the shooting incident was determined to be "in policy" and no administrative action was taken until Perez told investigators that officers routinely engaged in criminal behavior.
At least two shooting incidents have emerged as a focus of the criminal investigation which could result in conspiracy, attempted murder or murder charges against police officers, sources told CNN.
More than two dozen officers have been fired, relieved of duty or quit as a result of the scandal and at least 70 are under investigation.
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