Pubdate: Fri, 20 Apr 2001
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Tom Gorman, Times Staff Writer
Note: Times staff writer Matt Lait in Los Angeles contributed to this story.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rampart.htm (L.A. Rampart Scandal)

RAMPART VICTIM OVANDO IN COURT ON DRUG CHARGES

Trial: Awarded $15 million in LAPD scandal, he is accused of cocaine 
trafficking along with five others who were arrested during gambling trip 
to Nevada.

LAS VEGAS--Wearing a Dodgers baseball cap and sitting in his wheelchair, 
brain-injured Javier Ovando, the most high-profile victim of the Rampart 
police scandal, found himself back in a courtroom Thursday in a case that 
had nothing to do with the LAPD.

In 1996, Ovando was shot and paralyzed by Los Angeles police officers 
Rafael Perez and Nino Durden after he allegedly attacked them. Ovando was 
convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

It turned out the officers were the ones doing the attacking, and they 
planted a gun on the 19-year-old gang member. Ovando was released after 
serving 2 1/2 years in prison, his conviction was overturned, and the city 
of Los Angeles gave him $15 million--the largest settlement ever in 
connection with LAPD misconduct.

On Thursday, Ovando, now 23, sat quietly in court, accused of being a 
cocaine trafficker. If convicted, he faces a maximum term of life in prison 
with the possibility of parole after 10 years.

Ovando and five others were indicted by a Clark County grand jury March 30 
after the six were stopped in Ovando's 1999 Cadillac sport utility vehicle 
while they were headed to Las Vegas for a gambling getaway.

A California Highway Patrol officer, trailing the SUV across the desert and 
into Nevada, pulled the vehicle over for traveling 105 mph.

Nevada law enforcement officers arrived at the scene and found 50 grams of 
cocaine in various plastic bags, 37 grams of marijuana and a black duffel 
bag containing $71,888 in cash, said Clark County Deputy Dist. Atty. Melisa 
De La Garza.

She said that, in Nevada, possession of 28 grams or more of cocaine is 
considered a "large-level trafficking offense" and characterized the 
charges against Ovando as "very serious."

The amount of cash found in the vehicle was not factored into the 
trafficking charges, she said, "because we knew of his Rampart settlement."

Because the cocaine and marijuana allegedly were found in the vehicle but 
not on any one person, all six occupants were being similarly charged on 
all four counts, she said.

On Thursday, Ovando refused to enter a plea in a downtown Las Vegas 
courtroom. Clark County District Judge Mark Gibbons entered a plea of not 
guilty on Ovando's behalf.

Besides cocaine trafficking, Ovando and his five co-defendants also each 
face charges of conspiracy to possess cocaine and/or marijuana, possession 
of marijuana and transporting cocaine.

Ovando's attorney, Arnoldo Casillas of Montebello, said his client did not 
enter a plea Thursday because "the charges are horribly vague. He is 
entitled to a specific description of the charges."

Casillas said Ovando "is real shaken" by his most recent arrest "but 
confident this all will be resolved favorably. He looks forward to putting 
this episode behind him."

Casillas said there was "no basis for the drug-trafficking charges" but 
declined to say more.

Four other defendants pleaded not guilty Thursday. They are Richard Reyes, 
Samuel Alfaro, Manuel Lopez and Antonio Walter, all 26 and from Los 
Angeles. A sixth defendant, Crystal Rios, did not appear in court Thursday 
and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

The judge set an Aug. 27 trial date.

The Rampart Division police scandal unfolded when Perez, a former anti-gang 
officer, was accused of stealing six pounds of cocaine from LAPD evidence 
facilities. In exchange for a lighter sentence, Perez agreed to name other 
allegedly corrupt officers. He told investigators that rogue officers from 
the Rampart Division routinely framed and beat suspects and covered up 
unjustified shootings.

Since his disclosures, some 100 criminal convictions have been overturned 
and eight LAPD officers have been charged with corruption-related crimes. 
The investigation is ongoing.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens