Gates Aide Defends Guillory Inquiry as ‘Objective, Correct’

Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Brad Gates’ top aide testified Wednesday that he ordered an “objective, careful and correct” investigation of actions of a private investigator in 1984 but also acknowledged that several aspects of the criminal inquiry were unprecedented.

Undersheriff Raul Ramos, a 14-year veteran of the department, defended his central role in the 1984 criminal investigation of Preston Guillory, who claims that Gates’ office sought his prosecution because he was working for Gates’ political opponents.

Suit Seeks $5 Million

Ramos acknowledged that the investigation was inspired by, partly conducted by and then presented for prosecution by Sheriff’s Department employees who were defendants in civil rights lawsuits initiated or supported by Guillory.

Ramos’ testimony came during the second day of trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in Guillory’s $5-million lawsuit against Gates and other officials, in which he alleges that they conspired to violate his rights of free speech and association.

It is the first of several cases alleging misuse of office by Gates to reach trial. Gates’ lawyers have flatly denied Guillory’s claims.

The suit stems from investigations by a special unit of the Sheriff’s Department, and subsequently by Anaheim police, that led to Guillory being charged in 1985 with illegally carrying a firearm, impersonating an officer and seven other offenses. Guillory was acquitted of all the charges in 1985.

At the time of Gates’ investigation, Guillory had sued the sheriff in federal court in a civil rights case then pending and was working for three other political rivals of Gates who also had sued the sheriff for alleged political harassment and spying.

The county agreed to pay $375,000 to the three rivals, including former Orange County Municipal Judge Bobby D. Youngblood, to settle their harassment lawsuit.

On Wednesday, Ramos told jurors that his office, aware of the “sensitivity” of Guillory’s position as an open foe of Gates, took steps to avoid any conflicts in the investigation.

But Ramos also testified that Gates’ order directing him to personally deliver the completed criminal file to the Anaheim police chief for possible prosecution was unprecedented.

Asked by Guillory’s lawyer, Meir Westreich, if the order was unusual, Ramos responded: “It was different.”

Westreich pressed, asking if Ramos had ever received such an order.

“No,” Ramos replied. “I have never done that before.”

Throughout, Ramos, asked to recall a series of meetings and conversations from late 1984 and early 1985, said he had a hazy recollection of events.

The criminal allegations against Guillory grew out of his work in trying to locate Richard Wilder, an informant for the Sheriff’s Department intelligence division who was yet another defendant in the Youngblood case.

The investigation of Guillory’s tactics was launched by the intelligence division, an elite unit that reports directly to Gates, Ramos testified. The investigation was first proposed by Randy Blair, an investigator with the unit who also was a defendant in the Youngblood lawsuit.

In questioning, Westreich suggested that it was improper to allow Blair to conduct a criminal investigation of Guillory while Blair was a defendant who was being investigated by Guillory in the Youngblood case.

Ramos testified that Blair was taken off the case. Asked why, Ramos responded:

“Because Randy Blair was a party to a lawsuit in which Mr. Guillory was also involved. I was concerned that we’d probably end up in court like we are now. That’s why we went to (another) investigator.”

Ramos Also a Defendant

Westreich then pointed out that Ramos himself was a defendant in the Youngblood lawsuit. If Blair was removed from the investigation, why not Ramos himself, Westreich asked.

“I wasn’t going to be involved in the investigation as such,” Ramos responded. “I was merely giving general supervision to the process.”

Ramos also acknowledged that the Guillory inquiry was not routed through “normal channels,” such as the 80-member detective squad. The reason, he said, was that the investigation was “sensitive.”

“We considered this to be a sensitive investigation in that Mr. Guillory has a high profile in the press and because of his involvement with our department,” Ramos said.

Pressed to elaborate on what he meant by the word “sensitive,” Ramos responded: “Just that. It was Mr. Guillory. He always attracts a lot of media attention.”

The investigator chosen to replace Blair was in the same intelligence division but was not a party to any of the Youngblood/Guillory lawsuits, Ramos said.

“I told him to be objective, careful, and to do his work correctly,” Ramos said.

Recalling his dealings with Gates during the investigation, Ramos said he talked frequently with his boss about the case. But Ramos testified that he could remember few details.

Ramos said he told Gates about the initial allegations against Guillory. “I told (Gates) the information that had been conveyed,” he testified. “I think his only instructions as I can recall now, were to call (then-Anaheim Police Chief Jimmie) Kennedy.”

‘Can’t Recall Exact Words’

Asked whether Gates ordered a further inquiry, Ramos said: “I can’t recall the exact words, but we discussed it. That’s all I can tell you at this point.”

Westreich hit hard at Ramos’ memory lapses, leading U.S. District Judge Richard A. Gadbois to caution the lawyer. “Let’s get on with this instead of trying to badger this gentleman,” Gadbois said.

“I’m trying to do my best, your honor,” Westreich responded.

“Well, you’re not trying hard enough,” Gadbois shot back.

In settling the Youngblood case in 1987, Gates’ office continued to deny claims of harassment and illegal spying, despite paying a large sum to end the case. The settlement followed disclosure that a tape recording of one of Gates’ political rivals had been found in files maintained by the Sheriff’s Department.

Neither Youngblood, Guillory, nor other challengers have dented Gates’ perennial popularity at the polls. The four-term sheriff last won reelection in 1986, when he beat the total votes garnered by two challengers by 100,000 votes.

One challenger, George Wright, a community college professor, testified briefly Wednesday that he ran unsuccessfully against Gates in 1978, then considered another try in 1982.

“Shortly after expressing an interest in the campaign, I was standing in my back yard and a guy took a shot at me over the fence,” Wright testified. At that point, Wright said, he decided not to run again.

Wright was not asked to elaborate. Gates’ attorney, Eric Dobberteen, could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Gates is expected to follow Ramos on the witness stand Thursday.