Investigator Tells of Merriman Jail Tapes

Testimony continued in the murder trial of skinhead gang member Justin Merriman on Wednesday, despite a power outage that dimmed lights in the courtroom for several hours.

Merriman, 28, is accused of raping and slitting the throat of Santa Monica College student Katrina Montgomery, 20, in November 1992. Prosecutors say he wanted to prevent her from reporting the sexual assault to police.

Proceeding in semidarkness, prosecutors called their lead investigator to the stand to testify about sting operations used by the district attorney’s office to gather evidence against the defendant.

Investigator Mark Volpei described how authorities hid a recording device in the plumbing of Merriman’s jail cell two years ago.

An informant was placed in the cell with Merriman and investigators listened to their conversations for five days. But Merriman never admitted involvement in Montgomery’s slaying, according to earlier court testimony.

Investigators also persuaded a former gang member to pick up Merriman in a so-called “bait car” equipped with hidden recording and video equipment, Volpei testified.

And they got several other informants to wear wires into the jail in an attempt to capture statements from the defendant, Volpei said. Because of the power outage, those recordings were not played for the jury Wednesday.

Testimony is scheduled to resume today in Ventura County Superior Court.