Dallies-Case Witnesses Say They Lied

Highlighting the fragility of a case that prosecutors once planned to drop, two witnesses testified at a preliminary hearing Tuesday that they lied to police when they implicated John J.C. Stephens in the killing of a Garden Grove officer six years ago.

The women--both admitted drug abusers at the time of Officer Howard E. Dallies Jr.’s murder--told a Santa Ana court that they had been high when they gave their statements to police. Both testified that they had been afraid of arrest and the possibility of losing custody of their children unless they told investigators that Stephens was involved.

“My biggest fear was jail. I felt I had to say everything [police] wanted me to say,” said Terri Arbogast, who at one time told police that Stephens had dyed his hair to change his appearance after the killing. “I’m not going to stand up and see someone go to jail for something they didn’t do.”

Stephens has spent two years in Orange County Jail on charges that include the murder of Dallies and the attempted murder of a Santa Ana security guard. He maintains his innocence in both cases.

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Even before Tuesday’s testimony, neither witness offered the prosecution its strongest evidence against Stephens. But the retractions--under oath--underline the weaknesses of the case and shed light on why prosecutors intended until late last week to dismiss the case. The Orange County district attorney’s office said it changed course after police provided new evidence.

Before Tuesday’s testimony, Arbogast and Patricia McFarland accepted immunity deals from Deputy Dist. Atty. Rick King, but neither proved particularly friendly to the prosecution.

McFarland said she had lied to officers when she told them that she was at the home of Stephens’ then-girlfriend, Delores “Lola” Duvall, when Stephens returned home hours after the shooting.

McFarland also said that she had been lying when she told investigators that she overheard Stephens talking to Duvall about a shooting, and that Stephens had soon afterward changed the color of his hair.

McFarland said she had been under the influence of methamphetamine during police interviews. The drugs, she testified, had intensified her fear that police might separate her from her 6-month-old twin daughters.

Prosecutors are hoping to use the women’s statements incriminating Stephens to corroborate earlier testimony from Duvall. She told the court nearly two months ago that the Buena Park man returned home distraught soon after the killing and dyed his hair to change his appearance. She testified that he later told her that he had been present when his uncle, “Fast” Freddie Luster, killed Dallies.

Defense attorneys are attempting to convince Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan that police coerced Arbogast and McFarland. Ryan is expected to rule on the matter today. If the judge agrees with the defense, prosecutors will be prevented from introducing the women’s statements as evidence if the case goes to trial.

Prosecutor King said he will reevaluate whether to press on with the case once witnesses have finished testifying at the preliminary hearing.