Snitch-Gate Report Released By Grand Jury

SEAL BEACH, CA — While the Orange County Sheriff's Department testimony continues, first with Lieutenant Lane Lagaret and next with Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, there was no "structured" snitch program utilized in Orange County jails, according to the 28-page grand jury report released Tuesday.

Despite much-publicized challenges to the use of jailhouse informants in Orange County, there is no evidence of a "structured" snitch program in the jails, and allegations of collusion between prosecutors and sheriff's deputies to violate defendants' rights are "unfounded," according to that report.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department welcomed the independent review of their jail operations by the Orange County Grand Jury.

"The report validates many past statements made by Sheriff Sandra Hutchens regarding the use of jailhouse informants and confirms a departmentally sanctioned program does not exist," OCSD said in recent release.

"The Sheriff’s Department has already implemented the two department-specific recommendations published in the findings of the report. Standardizing jail activity records and improving supervisor training are important measures to better refine our custodial operations and they are recommendations that are well underway."

According to Hutchens, one of the most important points highlighted by the Grand Jury is that continued investigation into this issue is best handled by the California Attorney General and U.S. Department of Justice, not the trial court.

"It’s important for the Dekraai case to move toward a conclusion, allowing justice to be rendered," Hutchens said.

The Orange County Grand Jury found that while the use of in-custody informants does occur in some criminal cases, "it is generally organic in nature, case specific and does not represent a conspiracy between the Orange County Sheriff's Department and Orange County District Attorney's Office."

According to the grand jury report, there was a concession that there have been "discovery violations in a small number of cases" and there have been instances of "lax supervision" that has resulted missteps by prosecutors and sheriff's deputies, leading to an "erosion of trust in the criminal justice system."

Shortcomings by both the District Attorney's Office and sheriff's department "have implemented organizational changes to repair the damage."

"The grand jury found no definitive evidence of a structured jailhouse informant program operating in the Orange County jails," according to the report.

"Allegations of intentional motivation by a corrupt District Attorney's Office and a conspiracy with a corrupt sheriff's department to violate citizens' constitutional rights are unfounded. Disparate facts have been woven together and a combination of conjecture and random events have been juxtaposed to create a tenuous narrative insinuating nefarious intent.

That narrative does not stand up to factual validation," according to the report.
The report notes that the use of jailhouse informants is not unique to Orange County, where the "use of informants mirrors that of jurisdictions across the nation." It also cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found the use of informants can be "a valuable tool in 'society's defensive arsenal."'

Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders, the attorney for Scott Dekraai, who pleaded guilty to eight counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for carrying out the worse mass killing in the county's history, filed a 500-page-plus motion in early 2014 alleging widespread abuse of informants in the county jails to help prosecutors win cases.

The allegations snowballed as Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals ordered evidentiary hearings that led to the judge removing the Orange County District Attorney's Office from the case. The state Attorney General's Office took over the case and is continuing to pursue the death penalty for Dekraai, who killed eight people inside and outside the Salon Meritage in Seal Beach in October 2011.

The allegations about misuse of jailhouse informants have also compelled prosecutors to cut deals with several other defendants, including one killer who was released from custody.

Goethals is presiding over a third round of evidentiary hearings to determine whether he should dismiss the death penalty as an option for Dekraai because of the county's failure to turn over evidence in the case.

The sheriff's department's public information officer, Lt. Lane Lagaret, is expected to resume testimony in the hearings on Tuesday. Goethals also wants Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens to testify in the case this month.

Usually, the grand jury sends its reports to county officials a few days in advance, but that was not the case Tuesday, a source said. In fact, members of the Board of Supervisors were expected to get copies during Tuesday's annual budget meeting.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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