Mass Murder Trial and Fallout from Snitch Scandal to Come to a Head

By PAUL ANDERSON

Scott Evans Dekraai, the worst mass killer in Orange County history, was one of this year’s biggest news makers, and the case against him and allegations of misconduct in the use of jailhouse snitches is bound to continue generating headlines in 2016.

A legal move to dismiss the death penalty as an option for Dekraai that was filed in early 2014 led to legal earthquake in March when Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals recused the Orange County District Attorney’s Office from further prosecuting the case. The judge concluded that Dekraai’s rights were violated by the use of jailhouse snitches.

Goethals laid most of the blame on Orange County sheriff’s deputies in the Special Handling Unit, but added he no longer believed prosecutors could be trusted to police their law enforcement partners in the case. That prompted the Attorney General’s Office to appeal, which is still pending.

The Attorney General’s Office argued that Goethals overstepped his authority while Dekraai’s attorneys are arguing the judge had the discretion to boot Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas’ office from prosecuting the death penalty. The attorneys are expecting to make oral arguments before the Fourth District Court of Appeal after the Attorney General’s Office files its response to defense attorneys on Jan. 11.

Dekraai, who pleaded guilty in May of last year to murdering his ex-wife and seven other people in and around a Seal Beach salon where she worked, has been waiting for the penalty phase of his trial to begin since then.

The allegations of outrageous governmental conduct regarding the use of jailhouse informants to gather information against inmates stemming from the Dekraai case has affected several other cases, including one in which the defendant was granted a new trial scheduled for 2016.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s Office has been investigating the use of the informants and is expected to issue a report in the coming year. One law enforcement source said it could be as early as January.

Also anticipated soon is a report from an independent committee Rackauckas organized to evaluate the use of jailhouse informants.

The Informant Policies and Practices Evaluation Committee includes retired Orange County Superior Court Judge Jim Smith, retired Los Angeles County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Dixon, former Orange County Bar Association President Robert Gerard and Blithe Leece, described by Rackauckas as a specialist in ethics law and professional responsibility. Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson will serve as an adviser for the committee.

Then there was a recent call by top legal officials to have the U.S. Department of Justice investigate the use of informants. It’s not clear if the prosecutors in Washington will take action in 2016 on the request led by UC Irvine Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and former Attorney General John Van de Kamp.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal has also been called on to sort out a legal skirmish in Orange County Superior Court that some say stems from the Dekraai allegations.

This month, Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard King turned down four bids from prosecutors to disqualify Goethals from cases, arguing they were mucking up the court process to essentially punish the jurist for his ruling in the Dekraai matter. Rackauckas’ office has appealed that ruling and sources say Chemerinsky will be asked to handle the legal arguments in defense of King’s rulings.

The case against Eric Ortiz, which was outlined in Dekraai’s motion alleging his constitutional rights were violated, unraveled in November when two sheriff’s officials who factored into the subsequent evidentiary hearing on the accusations invoked their rights against self-incrimination on a motion for a new trial that was before Judge King. King granted the new trial, tentatively scheduled in February, for Ortiz, who was convicted last year of first-degree murder.

Henry Rodriguez, who was twice convicted in a double murder of a Fullerton woman and her unborn daughter, will continue his pursuit of a new trial based on similar allegations that defense attorneys weren’t given relevant information about informants. Rodriguez, who was last convicted in 2000, is due back in court before Goethals in February for further arguments.

Also pending in 2016 is the sentencing of Fernando Perez, the central informant in Dekraai’s case. Perez claimed her overheard Dekraai’s statements about his case and did not solicit information from the defendant, which would be illegal.

Prosecutors are seeking leniency for Perez, scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 29 in a gun possession case. Because he’s a third striker he faces a life sentence.

The other key informant in the Dekraai case was Oscar Moriel, who just completed testimony in the trial of alleged Mexican Mafia Orange County leader Peter Ojeda, whose trial continues in January. Moriel’s attempted murder case dating back to 2005 is also pending with the defendant due back in court Jan. 8.

Another offshoot of the Dekraai case is the expansion of the Office of Independent Review, which until this month was a watchdog for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Orange County Board of Supervisors, annoyed that they weren’t getting more information about key cases such as Dekraai’s, decided to expand the watchdog agency to also oversee the Probation Department, District Attorney and Public Defender’s offices and the Social Services Agency.

That move faces a legal challenge in 2016 from the union representing the county’s attorneys.

In June, voters will be asked to establish a campaign finance and ethics commission. Another key question in the presidential primary will be whether Rep. Loretta Sanchez will survive the runoff to challenge Attorney General Kamala Harris for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer.

City News Service