Cases Against 10 More Defendants in Rampart Cases Dismissed; Total Hits 60

Cases against 10 defendants who prosecutors believe were framed by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Rampart Division were dismissed Thursday, bringing to 60 the number of cases overturned as a result of the widening police corruption probe.

Most of the cases dismissed Thursday involved arrests made from 1994 to 1997 by disgraced former Rampart Officer Rafael Perez and his onetime partner, Nino Durden.

Perez has cooperated with district attorney’s office investigators as part of a plea bargain that reduced his sentence to five years for stealing more than eight pounds of cocaine from a police property room.

Perez has implicated himself and Durden in numerous cases of police misconduct and crimes, including the shooting and later framing of an unarmed gang member.

During months of questioning by investigators, Perez has also said that officers beat suspects, planted evidence and lied on the witness stand.

Alternate Public Defender Gary Wigodsky said outside court Thursday that the district attorney’s office is “sitting on” information that could potentially clear thousands of other people wrongfully convicted of crimes.

Wigodsky and other defense attorneys have filed a petition asking Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler to order the district attorney to provide the names of officers other than Perez who are being investigated in connection with the scandal.

“We have clients in custody waiting for the district attorney to do what he should have done months ago,” Wigodsky said.

District attorney’s office spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said prosecutors will respond to the defense attorneys’ petition in court May 11.

“This office sent out dozens and hundreds of letters to defense attorneys and defendants, just on Perez,” Gibbons said. Until this week, she said, no defense attorneys had filed any court papers seeking to have their clients released. All of the defendants have been released on the initiative of the district attorney’s office, she said.

2 Are Expected to Go Free Today

Two people cleared Thursday, Roberto Tomas Andrade, 37, and Olga Martha Alatorre, also known as Olga Rodriguez, 45, are expected to be released from prison by today, Gibbons said.

Andrade and Alatorre were convicted on drug charges in 1997. He was serving a 10-year sentence at Ironwood State Prison, while she was serving four years at Chowchilla State Prison.

According to court papers filed by the district attorney’s office, Perez said that he and Durden stole about $1,000 from Andrade’s apartment and that parts of their arrest report were false. Prosecutors also said it appears that both officers lied in their testimony against the two defendants.

In the other cases dismissed Thursday, four defendants have been deported, and the status of another who was referred to the Immigration and Naturalization Service is unknown, prosecutors said.

Two other defendants have completed their probation sentences, and one was still on probation until he was cleared Thursday.

In addition to Andrade and Alatorre, the other defendants whose cases were dismissed are:

* Omar Ramos Alonso and Leonel Ramos Estrada, also known as Gregorio Ramos Lopez, both 30. Ramos Alonso pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine for sale and was sentenced to six months in jail and three years’ probation.

Ramos Estrada pleaded guilty to the same drug charge and a weapons offense Sept. 25, 1997. He was paroled in July and referred to the INS, prosecutors said, adding that they do not know his immigration status. Perez said that statements in his arrest report were false and that the drugs were planted, prosecutors said.

* Jesus Flores, 40, and Julio Emilio Ramirez, 34, pleaded guilty to drug charges Feb. 24, 1998. They were sentenced to three years in prison and were paroled in May. They have since been deported. Perez admitted that parts of his arrest report were false and that he stole “a large quantity” of narcotics from an apartment he entered without probable cause after Flores was arrested, prosecutors said.

* Octavio Fernandez, 49, pleaded guilty to drug charges Aug. 27, 1996, and was sentenced to two years in prison. After serving his sentence, he was deported. Perez told prosecutors that he had fabricated parts of his arrest report.

* Miguel Yanez, 23, pleaded guilty to drug charges May 22, 1997 and was on three years’ probation until charges against him were dismissed Thursday. Perez told prosecutors that “significant portions” of the arrest warrant were false.

* Israel Cid, also known as Daniel Gonzales, 24, admitted violating probation by possessing a handgun Jan. 22, 1997. He was sentenced to two years in prison, paroled June 13, 1998, and deported. Perez told prosecutors that he had lied about circumstances leading to the arrest, including a statement that he had seen Cid with a handgun, prosecutors said.

* Juan Torrecillas, 22, pleaded guilty to drug and weapons charges June 23, 1997. He was sentenced to 270 days in jail and placed on three years’ probation. Perez told investigators that the drugs and gun appeared to have been planted on Torrecillas, whose probation has been overturned.