Perez to Invoke 5th Amendment if Asked About Alleged Killings

As the first Rampart police corruption trial gets underway today, the star prosecution witness says he won’t answer questions about murder allegations made by a former girlfriend unless prosecutors guarantee he is covered by his immunity agreement.

Rafael Perez has denied through his lawyer having any role in a double murder that has led federal authorities to a dump outside Tijuana, where they hope to search for remains that would confirm the story of Sonia Flores, who said Perez and another disgraced LAPD officer dumped three bodies there.

It remained unclear whether the murder allegations would be covered by an immunity agreement Perez struck with prosecutors last year. Perez’s tales of evidence planting, perjury and frame-ups triggered the Rampart scandal, which brought 70 Los Angeles police officers under suspicion and led to more than 100 tainted criminal convictions being overturned.

Attorneys are expected to raise the issue of Perez’s status as a witness today before opening statements and testimony begin in the case of four Rampart officers accused of scheming to obstruct justice.