Two Ex-Huntington Park Officers Face Trial in Stun-Gun Torture Case

Two former Huntington Park police officers were bound over to Superior Court on Thursday to stand trial on charges that they tortured a teen-age youth with an electric stun gun.

The decision by Los Angeles Municipal Judge David M. Horwitz came after a two-day hearing in which 17-year-old Jaime Ramirez’s testimony was largely upheld by two other witnesses: a 16-year-old girl Police Explorer Scout and a one-time colleague of defendants William J. Lustig and Robert Rodriguez.

Lustig, 31, served as a patrolman in the department for 3 1/2 years. Rodriguez, 25, held the same rank for 2 1/2 years. Both were suspended and subsequently dismissed after the alleged stun-gun incident late last year.

The key testimony Thursday came from Huntington Park Officer Eric Ault and Explorer Scout Maria Fregosa, who was riding with Ault in his patrol car when he arrested Ramirez on 58th Street in the early morning hours of Nov. 30 on suspicion of stealing car stereo components.

Ault, testifying with the promise of immunity from prosecution, said Lustig and Rodriquez arrived in separate patrol cars shortly after he had stopped Ramirez as he walked along 58th Street.

The officer testified that he had handcuffed Ramirez and put him in the darkened back seat of his patrol car. Ault said Lustig and Rodriguez both stood just outside the open back door of the car and questioned Ramirez about the stereo gear.

Then, Ault said, Lustig walked to his nearby patrol car and returned with “a black stun gun in his hand.” At that time, Ault said, both he and the Explorer Scout moved to the front end of his patrol car.

“You suspected what was going to happen?” Deputy Dist. Atty. Lawrence Mira asked.

“Yes . . . . I didn’t want to be involved,” Ault replied.

Ault said Lustig crouched down alongside the door, with Rodriguez at his side, and then he heard “a popping noise,” which he recognized as the sound of a stun gun being activated.

The officer said he could not see who was using the device but did see Ramirez “squirming in pain” and heard him “cry out.” He said he heard the crackling noise of the stun gun “approximately four to five times” as Lustig and Rodriguez kept repeating their questions.

The Explorer Scout testified that she had moved to the front of the car because she “sensed” what was about to happen. She also said she did not see the stun gun applied to Ramirez, but did hear it being activated.

When the two officers returned to their own cars, the witness said, she saw the stun gun in Lustig’s hand and heard him say, “I guess the kid’s telling the truth.”

The district attorney’s office declined to file charges against Ramirez due to lack of evidence. Ramirez has filed a $2-million claim against the City of Huntington Park in the alleged incident.

Lustig and Rodriguez are scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court Feb. 6 on charges of felony assault with a “great bodily harm” enhancement, which could mean maximum sentences of up to six years in prison. They are also charged with a misdemeanor count of inhumane and oppressive treatment, which could mean fines of up to $4,000 and prevent either man from ever again working as a police officer.