Judge: D.A. Can Stay on Thompson Death Case

A judge rejected requests Friday by Michael Goodwin’s lawyer to remove Orange County Dist. Atty. Anthony Rackauckas and his office from a grand jury investigation into the deaths of racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife.

Goodwin, who investigators say is the prime suspect in the couple’s deaths 13 years ago, also failed to get a gag order on grand jury witnesses dropped or to have authorities return copies of legal papers seized in a search of his home in June.

The Thompsons were gunned down in front of their San Gabriel Valley mansion in March 1988.

Goodwin’s lawyer, Jeffrey Benice, said Rackauckas should recuse himself because he represented members of the murder victims’ family in the late 1980s, before becoming district attorney. He and Goodwin also argued that the search yielding the legal papers was conducted without a warrant. A search warrant was obtained afterward.

Superior Court Judge Richard W. Stanford Jr. in Santa Ana said he could not order a prosecutor to recuse himself if his office had not yet filed the charges. Goodwin was taken into custody last month to appear in a lineup but has not been charged in the killings. A former business partner of Thompson, Goodwin denies involvement in the couple’s deaths and says he is being framed.

The judge denied Goodwin’s request on the search warrant and other issues, saying the requests were improperly submitted. Prosecutors called the requests “frivolous.”