REAL KILLER IN THE MATTHEW TURNER CASE NAMED PT.1

It’s been nearly 7 years since Matthew Turner was taken from his family’s apartment on Ave 53, down the street from El Pescador restaurant in Highland Park and 5 yrs since this young Highland Park resident was convicted of Murder and Attempted Murder. Reviewing the evidence gathered is it possible that suspect Sergio “Happy” Verdugo is the real killer? It sure seems that way.

On Oct. 2, 2008, 2 boys Adrian Betancor and Joey Chavez along with Stephanie Renteria, who would become the prosecutions main witness were walking down Ave 58 just a few feet away from the Metro Gold Line station, when a car pulls up and the passenger shouts “ where you from”? That’s how gang members call out or challenge those that may be a suspected rival gang member.

What wasn’t made clear during the trial was if the shooter started shooting while he was still in the car or did he jump out of the car and begin to open fire on the victims. This, like so many other conflicting statements made by main witness Stephanie Renteria. It was learned that Stephanie and Matthew knew each other from middle school, during the course of the trial.

However, from the crime scene to the police station she names a local area gang member as the assailant, not Matthew Turner. After reviewing this case I must ask,” if there has been a crime committed that has convicted an innocent young man”? And as time goes by the further and slimmer the chances get that the real killer will be brought to justice, because the LAPD is not going to freely admit that they have sent an innocent person to prison. Just like in the Dodger Stadium beating of Brian Stowe, and incidentally these are the same detectives that arrested Giovanni Ramirez for that beating and he turned out to be the wrong person. Well these are same Detectives that investigated the Matthew Turners case, BA360333.

Subsequently after the shooting 4 phone calls came into the Northeast Police Station from anonymous callers and all 4 callers named “Happy” as the shooter. It would be later learned “Happy” whose real name is Sergio Verdugo is the real killer. However, Detectives failed to bring this person in to question him. According to the chronological account of the Murder Book comprised by Northeast Homicide Detectives, all this happened before Matthew was even named or arrested.

A Highland Park gang member named Johnny Robles was arrested for a robbery and told officers that he could not go to Juvenile Hall because his girlfriend’s birthday was the next day. This happened 6 months after the initial crime. It was learned in this interview by Johnny Robles that he knew Matthew from Luther Burbank Middle School.
In this instance Mr. Robles said he had information because he didn’t want to go to jail, and because Mr. Robles implicated Matthew Turner, the Detectives began to build a case against Matthew.

Aug. 11, 2009 Matthew Turner’s family was torn apart. His mother Mina Lopez was dealt a painful blow, as her son was arrested for a murder. She is a hard working mother that only wants the best for her children. She basically had to raise her children by herself, since her husband Wayne Turner was a drug addict.

Matthew’s siblings, Eric, Paul, Stephanie and Isaiah couldn’t and didn’t believe that this was happening. They knew their brother and even though he had a minor run in with the law over marijuana and a theft, they know their brother is no murderer.

Looking back at the facts; Matthew has a mole on his lip that is almost the size of a dime. It is very distinctive and wasn’t hidden by a mustache or facial hair. Stephanie Renteria says that when the shooter got out of the car, that he was 4 to 6 feet from her when he opened fire on the boys. At which time she just froze looking at him. Her conflicting statement from the crime scene to the police station, where she gives a local gang members name as the shooter and then she goes on to give a description of a male Hispanic appox. 18 years old, 5’5 short stocky and a bald head. It is important to remember that she attended Middle School with Matthew and she knows Matthew and that he has a mole. Yet the description she gave police wasn’t of Matthew.

As a matter of fact on October the 31st 2009 witness Stephanie Renteria was in an interview with northeast homicide detective Harold DiCorce . The contents of this interview can be viewed from a recorded DVD interview, at which Northeast Detective Harold DiCorce ask Stephanie if there was anything that she could remember about the shooter, he says anything distinctive? Stephanie Renteria did not understand what the word distinctive meant so Detective DiCorce says. “ you know like a scar, tattoo or a mole”? Stephanie then replies in the negative.

Former Editor David Fonesca of the Highland Park Mouth Washington Patch, writes June 23, 2013, “In the videotaped interview of Renteria, she says Matthew looks similar to the shooter, to which DiCroce responded, “similar is not good enough.” DiCroce would then prompt Renteria to say that Matthew looks “exactly” like the shooter. When asked about his exchange with Renteria, Dicroce said he was not attempting to persuade her—only to help her better understand the vocabulary used by police.

There are so many discrepancies I don’t see how their testimony was ever to be believed by the jury. One thing for certain was that the surviving victim Joey Chavez consistently says that the shooter had a goatee. In every opportunity that was given Mr. Chavez to make an identification of Matthew, he never, not once identifies Matthew Turner as the shooter. Even when given the opportunity at a live lineup Joey Chavez did not point out Matthew Turner as the one who shot him on October 2nd 2008.

There’s so much that has been reviewed about this case that brings question to the way that the Northeast Detectives handled the investigation in this case. One question that arises is that if there were 4 phone calls that came into the police station implicating “Happy”, Sergio Verdugo as the shooter why wasn’t he brought in for questioning?

As I have reviewed court transcripts and DVD recordings of witnesses. I have come to the conclusion that there is no one that has positively identified Matthew Turner as the shooter, outside of the courtroom. All identifications have been made in the courtroom after these witnesses have had the opportunity to ID Matthew Turner through six pack photo lineups and even a live line up. As a matter of fact when Stephanie Renteria ID’s Matthew it is suspect because of the fact that she took out her cell phone and photographed Matthew’s picture. It was later learned that her sister Samantha Renteria, had given her the phone 15 mins prior to the interview and told her to take a picture of Matthew Turner, in order for her, Samantha, to make an ID of Matthew. In an earlier Interview Samantha picks out someone and says that he looks like the shooter. She picked out Sergio Verdugo.

Private investigator Frank Mackey who was working for Arlene Binder who was the first attorney to represent Matthew Turner. According to Matthews father Wayne Turner, Frank Mackey call him one day and told him,” Mr. Turner everyone that I have talked to here and Highland Park has told me that Sergio Verdugo is the shooter”. I have viewed an email between Frank Mackey and Wayne Turner and Mr. Mackey assured Mr. Turner in this email that he will help exonerated his son Matthew Turner.

There were two trials, the first trial ended in a 10 - 2 for the defense. And in the second trial the prosecution didn’t present any new evidence however they did bring in three new witnesses that they failed to inform the defense about the payment and relocation of these new witnesses. Substantiated by court transcripts a Mr. Juan Velazquez was paid close to $5,000 to come to court.

There’s another question that eats away at me and that question is, “ has the Northeast LAPD developed a pattern of systematically securing convictions against innocent people” ? Have they gone through great lengths to fabricate evidence and coerce witnesses? Have they employed witnesses to make their cases against innocent people?

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