Mistrial for Killers of Informant

After eight days of deliberations, jurors in the murder trial of a Yorba Linda teen police informant announced Friday they cannot decide on a punishment for his killers, prompting a judge to declare a mistrial in the case’s penalty phase.

Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty against the two men and one woman whom the jury last month convicted of torturing and killing Chad MacDonald because he worked as a drug informant for the Brea Police Department.

If prosecutors do not seek a new penalty hearing, the defendants automatically will face life in prison without the possibility of parole. The next court session is scheduled for Dec. 17.

An attorney for MacDonald’s mother expressed disappointment at the jury’s inability to reach a verdict.

The victim’s mother, Cindy MacDonald, wiped away tears when the verdict was read. She declined to comment afterward, but her attorney, Lloyd Charton, said she wants another jury to decide the defendants’ fate.

“My client thinks the defendants deserve death for what they did,” he said. “We do want to proceed with another penalty phase.”

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeffrey Ramseyer said he has yet to make a decision. “I’m disappointed the jury didn’t reach a final conclusion,” he said.

Richard Leonard, the attorney for defendant Michael Martinez, 21, said he believes another jury would reach a similar outcome.

Martinez, Florence Noriega, 28, and Jose Ibarra, 19, were convicted of torturing and strangling MacDonald, then dumping his body in a South Los Angeles alley in March 1998. The eight-woman, four-man jury also convicted the three of kidnapping, robbing and trying to murder MacDonald’s girlfriend, then 16.

The case prompted broad condemnation of the Brea Police Department and led to a new state law restricting the use of youths in undercover police work. It also led Cindy MacDonald to file a $10-million wrongful death lawsuit against the cities of Brea and Yorba Linda. The suit is pending.

The jury voted 9 to 3 for the death penalty against Noriega and Ibarra, and 7 to 5 for Martinez.

Being spared death sentences, at least temporarily, provoked no reaction from Noriega or Ibarra. Both appeared to be sleeping during much of the proceeding. Martinez, however, turned in his seat and broke into a wide grin at the sight of his family.

“This is the best we could have hoped for given the situation,” said Martinez’s father, Michael Ignacio Martinez of Los Angeles. “I’m grateful for the jurors for having compassion for my son.”

The jury’s announcement came after a series of courtroom proceedings that hinted at highly contentious jury deliberations.

After the judge ordered more deliberations upon learning the jurors had voted 11 to 1 on the sentences for Noriega and Ibarra, one juror requested to be excused. Later, he wrote a letter to the judge accusing others of “bashing” a holdout juror into changing her vote.