Judge Reveals Relationship With Defendant : Bailiff in Murder Trial Forced to Resign

An Orange County deputy marshal has resigned after the judge presiding over the murder trial of a San Diego man learned that the marshal was involved in a romantic relationship with the defendant.

Superior Court Judge Luis A. Cardenas announced the resignation when testimony concluded Thursday in the trial being heard in a Westminster courtroom on a change of venue.

The judge said the trial of Joselito Cinco, accused of murdering two San Diego police officers in 1984, would proceed as scheduled. Closing arguments are set for Tuesday; the jury is expected to begin deliberations Wednesday.

Cardenas told attorneys in the case that Marsha Leslie Evans, who joined the marshal’s service in 1983, had resigned in January.

The judge refused to comment further, aside from saying there have been no motions for a mistrial. Cardenas ordered attorneys for both sides not to discuss the alleged romance between Cinco and Evans, who is also known by her married name of Konrath.

Evans was one of two deputy marshals initially assigned to Cardenas’ courtroom. Deputy marshals are courtroom bailiffs in Orange County. She helped tend the evidence exhibits used by the defense and prosecution during the trial.

Evans joined Cardenas’ staff in July, when he began hearing pretrial matters in the case, the judge said.

Orange County Marshal James Byham also declined to discuss the matter except to say that Evans, 40, has resigned.

A law enforcement official familiar with the case said jail guards were tipped off about Evans’ jail visits by a sheriff’s deputy who recognized her during one of her weekend visits with Cinco.

Evans graduated from the Orange County Sheriff’s Academy in April, 1981, and was a sheriff’s deputy for two years before joining the marshal’s service. Evans also worked briefly at the Orange County Jail, said the official, who asked not to be identified.

The Sheriff’s Department began an investigation, fearing that she might help Cinco plot a jailbreak, the official said.

A subsequent search of Cinco’s cell revealed love letters from Evans and nude photographs of her, said the official, who added that Evans is divorced from a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy.

The inquiry also revealed that Cinco’s mother, Lolita, had visited Evans’ home, the official said.

According to this official and another source who knows Evans, she was admonished by her superiors after the trial began in November, when she was seen talking with Cinco on several occasions in a holding cell next to the courtroom.

Cinco, 28, is charged with murdering San Diego Police Officers Timothy Ruopp and Kimberly Tonahill in San Diego’s Balboa Park on Sept. 14, 1984. Cinco is also charged with the attempted murder of Officer Gary Mitrovich, who was wounded in the shoot-out.