No Plea Bargain Reached in Insurance Fraud Case

Attorneys in the case of Gary P. Miller, an Encino lawyer accused of second-degree murder for his alleged role in a staged freeway accident, failed to reach a plea agreement Tuesday and were ordered back to court to begin jury selection next week.

Judge Harvey A. Schneider, who ordered Miller and three other defendants back to Los Angeles Superior Court, appeared hopeful that the case could still be settled before then.

“I’ve already expressed my view that this case ought to be resolved,” Schneider said.

The case, which stemmed from a fatal 1992 wreck in which a carload of four men deliberately swerved in front of a big rig on the Golden State Freeway, focused national attention on the use of staged accidents to commit auto-insurance fraud. The prosecution of Miller, believed to be the first attorney ever charged with murder in such a scheme, has been closely watched for its potential deterrent effect.

Outside the courtroom, Miller’s defense lawyer, Harland W. Braun, said plea negotiations were stymied because he would not accept an agreement that includes a sentence of six years for Miller--a point upon which the prosecution is insistent, he said.

“That’s ridiculous,” Braun said. “The charge is ridiculous.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Leonard J. Shaffer declined to discuss the negotiations except to say, “We are asking for what we believe to be substantial justice. We’re in the business of trying to seek justice.” He confirmed the length of sentence was a sticking point but said it was not the only factor in the stalled negotiations.

Prosecutors have argued that Miller and his co-defendants are responsible for the death of 29-year-old Jose Luis Lopez Perez, who was killed when the car he was riding in was crushed beneath a big rig in Sun Valley.

Jorge Sanchez, the driver of the car, has already pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, and was sentenced to four years in prison.

*

The owner of the car, Oscar Portillo, was sentenced to two years in prison. According to authorities, Portillo admitted his involvement in staged accidents and helped lead investigators to Filemon Santiago, the “capper” who set up the accident, and to Miller.

Awaiting trial with Miller are Santiago, Rubidio Lopez and Isiais Antonio Aguilar Martinez, who were also charged with second degree murder and insurance fraud.

Martinez’s attorney, Timothy C. Lannen, said Tuesday that his client, who was a passenger in the car, had “only been in the country a few days” before the accident “and was unaware that he was even involved in a fraud.

“Mr. Martinez should never have been charged with a homicide in this case,” Lannen said.

Another defendant, Juan Carlos Amaya, is also charged with second-degree murder and insurance fraud, and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday. Arrested just this year, he allegedly helped set up the accident, prosecutors said.

Miller’s former office manager, Elena Shamis, faces two counts of criminal conspiracy.

Santiago and Amaya remain in custody. Miller and Shamis are free on bail. Lopez and Martinez are free on their own recognizance.