OXNARD : Judge Won’t Allow Informant to Testify

Hoping to salvage his case against both of the brothers accused of murdering an Oxnard teen-ager, a Ventura County prosecutor tried in vain Wednesday to put a jail informant on the witness stand.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald C. Glynn wanted to call the informant to rebut the surprise testimony Tuesday of defendant Gregory Lee Hines. Hines, 20, testified that he was responsible for the 1988 shotgun slaying of Jorge Rosales, and that his brother and co-defendant, Alexander Hines, was not present.

Glynn said the informant would testify that Gregory Hines told him last Thursday that he was dismayed by the overwhelming evidence against him and that he had decided to “get his brother out of it.”

Alexander Hines’ attorney, Deputy Public Defender Robert Willey, vehemently objected, calling Glynn’s move “one of the worst cases I have ever seen of grasping at straws.” “This case is going downhill faster than a greased pig on roller skates,” Willey said.

As it turned out, the would-be informant also is represented by the public defender’s office, and Willey said he would have a conflict of interest if he had to cross-examine him. Judge Lawrence Storch refused to allow the witness to testify and offered to declare a mistrial, which Glynn opposed.

The jury is expected to get the case after closing arguments today. The brothers are accused of killing Rosales because they suspected him of throwing a bottle that seriously injured their mother.