County Calls for Review of Witness Program

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday called for a review of the county’s witness protection program in the wake of the slayings of two men connected to criminal cases at the Van Nuys courthouse.

“It is vital that the integrity of our witness protection program be maintained,” said Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who made the motion asking the district attorney and Sheriff’s Department to make recommendations toward improving the program.

“Without it,” Antonovich said, “our judicial system would be severely hampered.”

The motion, which passed unanimously with little discussion, comes after two killings within a month involving cases related to the program.

James Navaroli, 36, was shot in the driveway of his West Hills home two weeks ago before he was expected to testify in a burglary trial. Police said Navaroli had earlier moved from his Valley neighborhood as part of the witness protection program, but that against the advice of authorities, had returned.

On Oct. 23, after his son had finished testifying against members of the Asian Boyz street gang in a murder trial in Van Nuys, 64-year-old Dong Dinh was shot to death when he answered the door at his San Jose home.

Dinh’s son had been placed in protective custody to prevent retaliation but no protection was extended to his family, law enforcement sources have said.

In the past five years the county has relocated 2,183 people in its witness protection program. The decisions on whom to enroll in the program are made by police agencies, officials say.

But questions have been raised on whether county law enforcement is aggressive enough in its protection of witnesses. The city of Los Angeles alone has paid $1.9 million in two lawsuits that contend witnesses or their families were not adequately protected.

A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, which administers the funds used in the program, said her office is open to examining how to strengthen it.

One thing is clear, Sandi Gibbons said, “We have found that the victims and witnesses who follow law enforcement instructions and don’t go back to their neighborhoods stay alive.”