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Charges Against Accused Killer to Be Dropped : Justice: Attorney says Los Angeles police failed to adequately investigate his client’s alibi. Van Nuys man is free after spending 13 months behind bars.

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TIMES STAFF WRITERS

A Van Nuys man charged in the 1991 slaying of a bartender has been released from jail and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office plans to drop murder charges today, authorities said.

David Zamudio, 29, was held for 13 months without bail in County Jail until he was released on his own recognizance last Tuesday. He faced a possible sentence of 27 years to life in prison had he been convicted of killing bartender Lorenzo Flores on Dec. 6, 1991.

“It was a nightmare. I was depressed in jail,” Zamudio said Sunday. “Sometimes I just couldn’t sleep. I thought the truth might never be discovered.”

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Prosecutors will ask that the case against Zamudio be dismissed for lack of evidence at a pretrial hearing scheduled for this morning in San Fernando Superior Court, Deputy Dist. Atty. Dale Cutler said.

“Information supplied to us by the defense showed that although he did not have an alibi for the time the murder did occur, he did have an alibi for the time we believe . . . the murderer was stalking the victim,” Cutler said. “Really we have no motive at this point and no connection between Mr. Zamudio and the victim.”

Cutler said new evidence showed that Zamudio was at work and at home at the time that Flores’ mother and two sisters said a man matching Zamudio’s description had come looking for Flores.

Flores, 33, of Sylmar was shot at Lencho’s Bar in Mission Hills after two men entered in search of him, witnesses said. Zamudio was arrested Feb. 11, 1992--three days before his planned Valentine’s Day wedding.

Five witnesses picked Zamudio’s picture out of a photo lineup and later from a live lineup. He also wears the same size tennis shoe that Flores’ killer was believed to have worn. The shoe was found outside Lencho’s Bar that night.

Alan Yahr, Zamudio’s attorney, maintains that it was never established that the killer actually wore the shoe. Also, one witness to the shooting said the gunman was about 5-foot-2, Yahr said. Zamudio is 5-foot-8.

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But Cutler said the discrepancy was not enough to warrant Zamudio’s release. “During that type of incident . . . it’s difficult” for a witness to estimate a suspect’s height correctly, he said.

Zamudio failed a police lie detector test but passed an independent test arranged by his attorney.

Yahr said he learned of his client’s alibi shortly before a June, 1992, preliminary hearing, but before the alibi could be checked by private investigators, Zamudio ran out of money and his case was transferred to a public defender.

Zamudio’s family later rehired Yahr, who asked prosecutors earlier this year to review the case.

“This case is just terrible,” Yahr said. “An innocent man was held for a year because of a sloppy investigation.”

“Once I was arrested, the investigation stopped,” Zamudio said.

Cutler defended the way the case was handled, saying Zamudio had been listed as unemployed at the time of the slaying, which prevented Los Angeles Police Department detectives from discovering Zamudio’s work-related alibi.

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“We had very, very strong evidence and certainly strong probable cause that Mr. Zamudio was the shooter,” he said.

The slaying is now being investigated as a possible contract killing, Cutler said, although a motive continues to elude detectives. One lead that cast Flores as a possible whistle-blower on drug dealings in the area failed to pan out, he said.

Zamudio said he was considering taking civil action against the city of Los Angeles to recover lost wages and the money his family spent on his defense.

“They took a year away from me,” Zamudio said, “That’s something they can’t replace.”

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