Pubdate: Wed, 07 Dec 2005
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2005 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.mercurynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Yomi S. Wronge

LAWYERS GIVE FERVENT CLOSINGS

Final Arguments In Drug Agent's Case

Allowing state narcotics agent Mike Walker to go unpunished for 
shooting a man in the back would be a "slippery slope to hell," a 
prosecutor said during closing arguments Tuesday.

"He shot a man who was running away. A man who didn't have a gun. He 
was unarmed," said Deputy District Attorney Lane Liroff, who accused 
Walker of "reckless misconduct" in a case "that isn't even a close call."

Walker, 34, faces one voluntary manslaughter charge for fatally 
shooting Rodolfo "Rudy" Cardenas on Feb. 17, 2004, at the end of a 
pursuit in downtown San Jose.

In contrast to the prosecutor, defense attorney Craig Brown began his 
closing argument by drawing the jury's attention to the crowd of law 
enforcement agents assembled in the courtroom. They came "to bear 
silent witness to the fact they understand what it takes to be out 
there," putting themselves on the line for the sake of the community.

Given similar circumstances, they might have done the exact same 
thing as Walker, Brown said. As for the case at hand, Brown said 
there was "not only a complete absence of proof, but a complete 
failure to prove guilt."

Brown is expected to finish his closing arguments today.

In his impassioned arguments earlier in the day, Liroff called Walker 
a "hot dog" who wasn't following orders, wasn't doing his duty and 
wasn't defending himself that day. "He seems to want to re-enact 
'Smokey and the Bandit' on the streets of San Jose," Liroff said of 
the high-speed car chase that ended at a North Fourth Street retirement center.

Walker says Cardenas ditched his car, lured him down an alley, 
climbed a chain link fence and attempted to run away. Walker claims 
the 43-year-old father of five, while fleeing, turned on him, gun in 
hand, leaving the agent no choice but to shoot.

Liroff called Walker's version a "fabrication" concocted to support a 
bogus claim of self-defense. He also alleged some of Walker's fellow 
Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement agents conspired to protect him.

The prosecutor tried to tie together evidence for the jury that he 
said proves Walker's guilt, including eyewitness statements and a 
security camera videotape.

The tape indicates that Walker fired his first round of shots 8.6 
seconds after arriving at the alley adjacent to the Shires Memorial 
Center retirement home. Liroff said that doesn't give Walker enough 
time to do and see all the things he testified to: chase Cardenas 
down the alley, watch him struggle a few times to scale a fence, run 
at least 35 feet across a parking lot, turn back toward Walker and flash a gun.

"The videotape just doesn't lie," Liroff said.

During his testimony, Walker refused to concede he made an error in 
judgment even though no firearm was ever found.

Police found a small folded knife in Cardenas' left front pants 
pocket. Liroff said it is implausible that Cardenas would have 
flashed the knife at Walker with his right hand, suffered a 
life-threatening wound and then put the knife into his left pants pocket.

Liroff concluded by admonishing the defense for "demonizing Mr. 
Cardenas. To make him worthy of killing."

"Rudy was a lot of hope and not much delivery at that time," Liroff 
said in describing Cardenas' history of marital problems, 
joblessness, low-level drug dealing and abuse. Liroff said he didn't 
deserve to be killed by an overzealous cop.
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