Pubdate: Sat, 03 Feb 2001
Source: Alameda Times-Star (CA)
Copyright: 2001 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
Contact:  P.O. Box 28884 ,Oakland, CA 94612
Fax: (510) 208-6477
Website: http://www.timesstar.com/

JUDGE PROTECTS CROOKED COP FROM 'LIKELY PRISON DANGERS'

LOS ANGELES -- Corrupt ex-policeman Rafael Perez will remain in local 
custody because moving him to state prison would place him in potential 
danger, a judge ruled Friday.

In a brief hearing, Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry denied a 
prosecution request for the key witness in the Rampart police corruption 
case to be moved to prison to serve out his sentence for stealing cocaine 
from a police evidence room.

"Mr. Perez is in likely danger from all kinds of interests, and I'm most 
comfortable leaving him where he is," Perry said. "I'm not gonna move him."

Perez was not at the hearing. He is scheduled to be released in early June.

Prosecutors have said the convicted ex-cop-turned-informant whose 
confessions and accusations broke open the Rampart scandal is no longer 
needed for the investigation.

A Jan. 26 letter to the court from District Attorney Steve Cooley and 
Deputy District Attorney Richard Rosenthal said, "It no longer appears 
necessary or appropriate for Mr. Perez, as a sentenced state prison 
defendant, to remain in local custody."

The move came after Perez's attorney, Winston McKesson, told prosecutors 
his client "will not be made available to testify at continuing (LAPD) 
Board of Rights (hearings) or for further interviews until further notice," 
according to the letter.

"There seems to be no further reason to keep him in local custody," 
Rosenthal told the judge at the hearing. He should be sent to state prison 
like "any other felon," the prosecutor said.

Perry denied the request after getting assurances from McKesson that his 
client would remain "ready and willing to cooperate" in court if required.

"We're very pleased with the decision," McKesson said. He declined further 
comment and would not say why Perez was no longer aiding the internal 
police investigation.

Perez became the central figure in the biggest Los Angeles Police 
Department scandal in decades after pleading guilty to stealing eight 
pounds of cocaine from a police evidence room. In exchange for a lighter 
sentence he agreed to tell prosecutors what he'd seen as an officer in an 
anti-gang unit in the department's gritty Rampart Division near downtown.

He was sentenced a year ago and his statements about officers lying under 
oath and abusing innocent people helped lead to the suspension of dozens of 
officers, the overturning of about 100 tainted cases and the arrest of five 
officers.

It is not clear what Friday's ruling will mean for Perez's former partner, 
LAPD Officer Nino Durden, who is scheduled to go on trial later this year 
on charges of attempted murder. He faces the most serious charges in the 
ongoing Rampart investigation.

Joseph Scott, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, declined to 
comment on the case against Durden.

One officer was acquitted and three, Sgts. Edward Ortiz and Brian Liddy and 
Officer Michael Buchanan, were convicted in November of framing gang 
members. However, their convictions were overturned by a judge; the 
district attorney's office is appealing that decision.

But Perez has become an increasingly problematic witness.

The trial of the four officers was overshadowed by murder accusations 
against Perez lodged by a former girlfriend. The woman later recanted, 
saying she was trying to get back at Perez for jilting her.

While incarcerated, Perez has bragged about "making stuff up" to get back 
at cops he did not like and about landing a book or movie deal, according 
to jail informants.

His role as an informant has grown even more strained recently after 
federal prosecutors concluded that the immunity deal he reached with the 
district attorney did not protect him from federal prosecution.

Federal prosecutors concluded that despite an immunity deal, Perez could be 
charged with crimes for his admitted participation in unjustified 
shootings, robberies and the framing of innocent people, the Los Angeles 
Times reported.

Both sides in the case have declined to comment on that report.

Although some of those offenses are not covered under federal statutes, the 
laws do address such crimes as civil rights violations, including the 
intentional use of excessive force by police.

If prosecuted, Perez faces the possibility of many more years behind bars.
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