Ex-Policeman Appeals Conviction in Murder
Lawyers for a former San Gabriel policeman convicted of murder have filed a motion for a new trial based on allegations that jailhouse informants lied about the officer to win more lenient sentences for themselves.
The motion, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, contends that the testimony of informants caused Billy Joe McIlvain to be wrongly convicted of killing an 18-year-old gang member during a siege at McIlvain’s West Covina home in 1977.
McIlvain, 45, is serving a life sentence at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad for abducting the youth, shooting him, then trying to make it look as though McIlvain had been held captive. He has steadfastly maintained his innocence.
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