Assembly OKs Restriction on Young Informants

The Assembly gave final approval Friday to a measure that would restrict the use of juveniles as police informants in response to the murder of a Yorba Linda youth who had been enlisted as a drug snitch.

The measure by Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) was approved on a 70-2 vote and now goes to Gov. Pete Wilson, who is expected to sign it.

Baugh’s measure comes after the torture and slaying of 17-year-old Chad MacDonald in March.

An attorney for the MacDonald family contends the youth was killed because of his work as an informant for Brea police, in exchange for dismissal of a drug charge. Police, however, say they stopped using MacDonald as an informant weeks before the murder.

The bill approved Friday would prohibit the use of children 12 and younger as informants. Youths between 13 and 17 could be used, but only after police received permission from a judge.

A judge would have to consider the age and maturity of the teenager, the gravity of the youth’s alleged offense, the interests of justice and other factors before allowing a child to be deployed as a snitch.

There would be one exception: Police could avoid getting a judge’s permission if the juvenile informant was working undercover on a case involving surveillance of retailers selling cigarettes to underage children.

Baugh originally sought a ban on all juvenile informants, but eased off under pressure from law enforcement officials who said they needed some flexibility to use underage informants in critical cases. Baugh agreed to prohibit the use of snitches 15 and younger, then lowered the threshold to 12 and younger at the request of Senate Democrats.

If Wilson signs the law, it will go into effect immediately.

MacDonald’s mother, who could not be reached for comment Friday, recently filed a $10-million wrongful-death lawsuit against the cities of Brea and Yorba Linda as well as Brea police, who serve both cities.

MacDonald agreed to work as an informant after being arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine in January.

In early March, he went to a suspected drug house in Norwalk. MacDonald’s badly beaten body was later found in an alley in South Los Angeles. His girlfriend was raped, shot and left for dead in the Angeles National Forest, but survived the attack.

Three suspects were arrested. Michael Martinez, 21, Florence Noriega, 28, and Jose Ibarra, 19, all of Norwalk, have pleaded not guilty and face a Sept. 9 preliminary hearing.