Rape Charges Against Police Officer Dropped

A Los Angeles Municipal Court judge Thursday dismissed all charges against a police officer who had been accused of raping a woman last May in Pasadena, saying the woman told different stories about the alleged event.

Judge Elva Soper dismissed the case against 29-year-old Mark Mireles of Pasadena, describing testimony by the alleged victim at a preliminary hearing as marred by memory lapses and inconsistent statements.

“I thought the dismissal was the only appropriate action the judge could have taken based on the facts that were presented in court,” defense attorney Darryl Mounger said. “She was interviewed by two different sets of investigators from two different agencies on the same day and gave two different stories.” The woman was interviewed by both Pasadena and Los Angeles police.

Mireles, a six-year police veteran assigned to the Foothill Division and father of three, faced four felony counts. The counts alleged that he attacked the woman in a secluded area behind a billiards parlor in Old Town Pasadena in the early morning hours of May 18.

The woman, who once was a baby-sitter for Mireles’ children, said in a police report that the officer, who was off-duty at the time, had forced her to orally copulate him and had raped her behind a business in the 100 block of East Holly Street.

At one point, the woman told investigators, Mireles tried to prevent her from yelling for help by clapping his hand over her mouth. The woman also told police she did not fight him off because she feared Mireles’ extensive martial arts training.

In the end, however, the judge ruled the woman’s statements and testimony did not add up. “The judge ruled she wasn’t a believable witness,” Mounger said. “She did not recall reasonable things that a person would be expected to recall and gave inconsistent statements.”

The decision apparently caught the prosecutor, Deputy Dist. Atty. Bryant Bushling, by surprise, D.A. spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said. “He thought his witness was credible,” Gibbons said.

Bushling, who declined to return phone calls, said he would study the testimony at the preliminary hearing before deciding whether to refile charges, Gibbons said.