LOS ANGELES : Lost Evidence May Not Hinder Rapper’s Trial
A judge said Friday he is leaning toward letting murder charges stand against rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, his bodyguard and another man, even though the prosecution lost some evidence in the case.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul Flynn said defense lawyers have failed, at least so far, to prove that police purposely destroyed bloody clothes, a bullet and a shell casing from the Aug. 25, 1993, killing of Philip Waldermariam.
Attorneys for the rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, and co-defendants McKinley Lee and Sean Abrams have to show that prosecutors intentionally destroyed the evidence in order to get the case thrown out.
“It looks, based on what I’ve heard, like the [police] made an error,” Flynn said.
However, the judge said he has not formed an opinion on whether the evidence was crucial to the case. If he finds later that it is crucial, Flynn said he may grant a defense request to sanction prosecutors.
Sanctions could come in the form of special instructions to jurors, advising them of the prosecution’s mistake.
Attorneys for Broadus, 23, his bodyguard Lee, 25, and Sean Abrams, 25, allege that detectives got rid of the evidence because the items might have helped their clients’ defense.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
