The criminal defense lawyer who represented a man that claimed two Los Angeles police officers lied about his drug crime arrest and attempted to frame him was not happy about the judge’s decision to not sentence the officers to jail time. The two officers were found guilty of perjury and conspiracy to obstruct justice by a jury for their role in a 2008 drug related case.
Los Angeles County Deputy Public Defender Victor Acevedo said it sets a bad example to other potentially corrupt police officers that they can get a pass if they intentionally violate a suspects legal rights. He believed the sentence of community service was too lenient and they should have been sent to at least two years in a California state prison, which was the same amount of time his client was offered by the district attorney after he was arrested and charged with drug possession for sale by the two officers who submitted a false police report.
The two former officers Evan Samuel and Richard Amio, were sentenced by the judge to perform several hundred hours of community labor.
His clients drug trial ended after the defense lawyer presented a surveillance video of the place of arrest that showed several police officers searching for over 20 minutes before one of them announces that the defendant’s drugs were found.
However, the two arresting officers had claimed in their arrest report they found the drug immediately after witnessing the defendant, Guillermo Alarcon, throw them as he was running from police. The public defender argued in court that the drugs found at the location did not belong to his client and could have been planted by the officers. The judge agreed and dismissed the drug possession charges and declared him factually innocent.
The defendant’s defense attorney said the judge bent over backwards to show leniency to the two corrupt police officers and it sent the wrong message to the public. The judge said the officers conduct was “shameful,” but he too into account their entire careers.
Both police officers were facing many years in a state prison. The district attorney’s office was seeking a three year minimum sentence for what they called a deliberate and malicious attempt to derail justice by lying in their police reports and court testimony.
The jury found the officers guilty of one count of conspiracy and numerous counts of perjury.
One of the LAPD officers has been on administrative leave pending the outcome of his criminal case. The other officer was fired while still on probationary status at the Chino Police Department.
If you believe you are a victim of a false arrest, you will need an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer to represent you. At the Goldstein Law Group, we have over four decades of experience in criminal law and a track record of success. Don’t let your future be ruined by police corruption. Contact our office anytime to discuss the details of your arrest.