Brea Police Probe Teen’s Slaying as Defense for Possible Lawsuit

Police said Thursday they have taken the unusual step of investigating details of the Chad MacDonald slaying in order to defend themselves against a possible wrongful death lawsuit by the slain teen’s family, who claim he was tortured and killed because of his work as a police informant.

Brea Police Chief William C. Lentini said they are investigating the family’s allegations that police recklessly thrust the 17-year-old into harm’s way by coercing him to tangle with violent drug dealers.

MacDonald’s body was found March 3 in a South Los Angeles alley, two days after he drove to a Norwalk house known for gang and drug activity. Although the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is handling the case, Brea officials said they have been forced to examine the circumstances as well, as both the police and the MacDonald family trade accusations following the death.

“We have an obligation to respond to these allegations and to do that, we have to find the truth,” Lentini said Thursday. The family “has indicated that there is information out there that we are not aware of. If that’s true, we will find it. We have a public trust here to maintain.”

While the victim’s mother has not stated whether she will pursue legal action against the Brea Police Department, she has claimed that MacDonald was murdered by drug dealers he met while working as a snitch. Through her attorney, Cindy MacDonald has also said her son had been selling and heavily using methamphetamine before his death.

Her attorney, Lloyd Charton, said police enticed MacDonald to work for them in exchange for the dismissal of a pending drug charge, only to abandon him when he didn’t set up a large enough deal.

Charton on Thursday also accused police of bullying several of MacDonald’s friends to reveal details about his involvement with drugs. Charton said police were disparaging MacDonald’s memory by trying to portray him as “a dirty dropout drug user.”

“That they would go out there and try to soil the reputation of a murder victim is unconscionable,” Charton said. “This is not about Chad. It’s about them taking a severely addicted young boy and tossing him even further into the drug culture.”

Lentini confirmed that detectives have been interviewing people in the wake of the family’s allegations, which have sparked debate over the use of underage police informants. Some California lawmakers are also calling for a ban on using minors for undercover work.

Lentini has characterized the attorney’s allegations as inaccurate and misleading, but has yet to specifically refute them. The department has petitioned an Orange County juvenile court judge for permission to release confidential information on the case.

Meanwhile, Deputy Dist. Atty. Carl Armbrust, a supervising prosecutor in the narcotics enforcement unit who reviews the work drug informants perform for local law enforcement agencies, said he was never notified in advance that MacDonald would be working with police.

“They don’t come here and ask my permission to use a snitch,” he said of the police. “I don’t sign off on anything. They do their thing, and then I consider what type of sentencing recommendation we should make to the judge.”

Florence L. Noriega, 28, and Michael Lucas Martinez, 21, were arrested in Las Vegas this month and charged in MacDonald’s death. Noriega has been returned to Los Angeles, but Martinez is fighting extradition, officials said.

A warrant is out for the arrest of a third suspect, Jose A. Ibarra, 19.