Pubdate: Sun, 16 Apr 2006
Source: San Bernardino Sun (CA)
Copyright: 2006 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact: http://www.sbsun.com/writealetter
Website: http://www.sbsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1417
Author: Joe Nelson, Staff Writer

SHELTER FROM THE CRIMINAL STORM

Slaying Of Witness Raises Shield Issues

They muster the courage to walk into a courtroom and willingly 
testify against the most hard-core criminals: murderers, gangbangers, 
drug dealers and other street terrorists.

Sometimes, they are threatened with acts of violence - by criminal 
defendants themselves or their families and friends.

When this happens, county prosecutors can offer imperiled witnesses 
protection through the state Witness Protection Program. They can 
relocate witnesses and their families and put them up in new housing, 
even out of state, if necessary.

In some rare instances, it can even be like the movies - a person's 
whole identity is changed and they begin life anew.

There is a catch, however. Unlike the U.S. Justice Department's 
Witness Protection Program, which provides long-term protection for 
federal-court witnesses, the state program only offers protection to 
a witness for the duration of their testimony.

In most cases, witnesses' monthly rent and food allowances are 
covered for an additional 90 days after their testimony.

After that, they're essentially on their own.

"It's not a carte blanche that we will carry them for every issue of 
their life," said Vic Hamilton, a supervising investigator for the 
San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.

Hamilton, who oversees the DA's Witness Protection Program, said the 
aim is to give witnesses a reasonable amount of time to get back on 
their feet, become self-sustaining and move on.

"It's not welfare. It's a bridge to starting over and escaping the 
threat," Hamilton said.

The slaying of 18-year-old Melquiades Jose Rojas, who testified 
against two gang members at their murder trial in February in San 
Bernardino Superior Court, has raised questions about the strength of 
the state Witness Protection Program.

The self-admitted San Bernardino gang member and his family were 
offered protection by the District Attorney's Office.

Statewide, district attorney's offices are the local law-enforcement 
agencies that administer the Witness Protection Program.

Rojas' slaying, authorities say, was an anomaly. Hamilton said that 
in his experience in the county, he can't recall any murder witnesses 
slain before, during or after their testimony.

"I've been a cop for over 27 years in this county, and I cannot 
recall one," said Hamilton, a former sheriff's deputy. "If someone 
was killed in retaliation for their testimony, I'm not aware of it. 
It's definitely a newsworthy event."

The slaying has prompted the county's top prosecutors to discuss 
possible changes to their Witness Protection Program.

"It is critical to us, because the cooperation of our witnesses is 
essential to our ability to take violent criminals off the street," 
said Jim Hackleman, an assistant district attorney. "We take this 
very seriously."

He said the district attorney's executive and management staff will 
meet with District Attorney Michael A. Ramos next week to discuss 
establishing a more formal review of procedures and protocols for the 
Witness Protection Program.

"The DA's focus is going to be, 'Is there anything we can do better 
to protect our witnesses?"' Hackleman said.

While the Rojas family and district attorney's officials are at odds 
in their accounts of the level of protection the family received, one 
thing is certain: Rojas' bullet-riddled body was found dumped in a 
gully in Beaumont the morning of April 4. Police believe the killing 
was in retaliation for Rojas' testifying against San Bernardino gang 
members James Fuentes and Melicio Reyes, who were convicted of murder 
and are scheduled for sentencing Monday.

Rojas' mother, Denise Rojas, said that although she signed a 
witness-advisement form and agreed to participate in the Witness 
Protection Program after she and her son were threatened by gang 
members, specifics as to how the program worked were not made clear 
to her. She said she was told to find a new home on her own, and 
within county limits.

District attorney's officials determined that staff members "acted 
appropriately and professionally" in the Rojas matter, Hackleman said.

Denise Rojas, as of Thursday, was still living in San Bernardino.

Fuentes and Reyes were convicted in the June 24, 2003, fatal shooting 
of Francisco Ferreira, who lives across the street from the Rojas family.

"Right now I'm fearing for my life," said Denise Rojas, 43. "They 
(prosecutors) said there was a program, but they never told me 'you 
got a month, a week' - I didn't know how much time I had."

Hamilton said the Rojas family was given enough money to cover the 
first and last month's rent to move into an apartment elsewhere, and 
was given the direction to do so. But the Rojas family never followed 
up and went back home.

Under California's program, protected witnesses and their families 
are eligible for up to $1,000 a month for rent and are given monthly 
food allowances and money for incidentals. The program can also 
provide money for travel to and from court, moving and other 
necessary expenses. District attorney's offices throughout California 
reimburse the state for the cost of the program.

Sometimes, the $1,000 monthly allocation for rent can be increased, 
depending on where a witness chooses to live, within reason.

"That can be changed if it's a higher-cost Advertisementcounty, like 
San Francisco, Monterey, or Santa Cruz - the cost of living is just 
higher there," said Judy Cornick, program analyst for the California 
Witness Protection Program, who oversees the program's $3 million 
annual budget.

Historically, county prosecutors have lobbied for more money.

"It's not adequate," Hackleman said. "Unfortunately, this is a money 
issue and depends on state funds. We have lobbied in the past for 
witness-protection funds, and certainly, this issue (the Rojas 
slaying) is going to be a part of our argument that those funds need 
to be further enhanced."

Bad credit and criminal records - factors that could thwart a move 
into a new apartment or house - are not an issue in the Witness 
Protection Program, Hamilton said.

"We work with those landlords," Hamilton said. "That has 
traditionally not been a significant obstacle."

He declined to elaborate more on how prosecutors work with landlords, 
saying it would be a security risk to disclose too much information.

Witnesses with bad credit also can be placed in temporary lodging, 
like weekly motels that have kitchenettes. They can stay indefinitely 
throughout the duration of a trial and until they find a new 
residence, Cornick said.

Under a temporary lodging agreement, witnesses receive a daily 
lodging allowance of $89 and a daily food allowance of $30. 
Additional allowances are provided for family and children if applicable.

Witnesses who are permanently relocated receive a maximum of $300 a 
month for food, $200 for utilities and $100 for incidentals. 
Additional funds are allocated for children and family members.

 From July 1, 2004, to June 30 the California Witness Protection 
Program approved funding for 388 new cases for witnesses testifying 
in criminal proceedings. The program also approved and reimbursed 
claims of $2.3 million, according to its 2006 annual report to the Legislature.

Last year, the program approved $1.5 million in reimbursement claims. 
Since the program started in 1998, the state Department of Justice 
has allocated about $12.3 million to counties throughout the state.

The 388 cases approved last year provided protection for 444 
witnesses, plus 681 family members, who testified against 700 
criminal defendants. Of the 388 new cases, 76 percent (295) were 
gang-related, 19 percent (75) were for other types of high-risk 
crimes, 4 percent (14) involved domestic violence, and 1 percent (4) 
involved narcotics trafficking.

Witness protection has become a national issue with Sen. Charles 
Schumer, D-N.Y., who is proposing the Witness Security and Protection 
Act of 2006. It would establish in the U.S. Marshals Service a 
short-term state witness-protection program that would combat gang 
violence and intimidation and domestic violence. It also would 
provide federal grants for such protection.

The bill, introduced Feb. 6, is being considered by the Senate 
Judiciary Committee.

While the Rojas family claims it was left out in the cold and that 
Melquiades Rojas lived out the last months of his life in paranoia 
and desperation, county prosecutors say the family had an opportunity 
to leave and didn't.

Cornick, the program analyst for the state Witness Protection 
Program, said she can recall no case in the past of a protected 
witness being killed during the course of the criminal case in which 
they were testifying.

She did remember one man, a former witness who had been relocated but 
was no longer in the program, who was killed after he returned to his 
old neighborhood and was recognized.

Many witnesses don't like the idea of uprooting their lives and 
leaving the neighborhoods they have called home for so long. Some opt 
not to leave or eventually wind up returning to visit.

And that can be deadly.

"Human beings are creatures of habit. They're sentimental," said 
Hamilton, the supervising investigator for the District Attorney's 
Office. "They go back to visit family members, old girlfriends and 
friends - that's the choice those witnesses make. They come back to 
the neighborhoods from which they fled, and they're spotted almost immediately."
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