A Los Angeles County jury discovered a sheriff’s deputy not responsible of perjury this week, greater than two years after prosecutors charged him with mendacity in courtroom.
In 2019, Deputy Kevin Honea testified that he’d personally recovered a stolen gun from the entrance seat of a automobile — however prosecutors stated video confirmed that one other deputy discovered the weapon inside a bag within the trunk.
On the time, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division officers defended Honea, saying he was “sloppy” however didn’t lie. On Friday afternoon, following greater than per week of trial, a jury agreed.
Steven Alvarado, Honea’s trial legal professional, referred to as the decision a “implausible” final result.
“I’m ecstatic for Deputy Honea and his household,” Alvarado advised The Occasions on Friday. “The jury bought this one proper and gave a very good cop his life again.”
In a press release Friday, the Los Angeles County district legal professional’s workplace framed it as a tough case and stated it could “proceed to prioritize integrity and accountability” in legislation enforcement.
“We acknowledge the challenges inherent in prosecuting instances of this nature,” the assertion stated. “Perjury poses a big menace to the inspiration of justice and public confidence in legislation enforcement, making these instances notably advanced.”
Honea was on patrol in Gardena in Might 2019 when he noticed an Audi sedan leaving a Motel 6 parking zone, based on courtroom information. He ran the license plate and located that it was linked to a theft. Three males have been arrested.
At a courtroom listening to a month later, transcripts present, Honea described opening a field within the entrance seat and discovering a number of gadgets, together with a gun.
“It was like the place your foot can be in case you have been sitting within the entrance passenger seat,” he stated, when questioned by the prosecutor.
Throughout cross-examination, Honea once more confirmed he’d discovered the gun within the entrance passenger seat. When a deputy public defender requested whether or not he’d “personally” recovered the weapon, he stated he had.
However motel surveillance footage — obtained by the protection crew for one of many males arrested — confirmed Honea and different deputies wanting contained in the field within the entrance passenger’s seat a number of instances and never discovering a gun.
Finally, one other deputy on the scene pulled a small field out of a bag that had been within the trunk of the automobile. Honea, who was on the cellphone on the time, walked again towards the group as one other deputy opened the field. The group celebrated, patting one another on the shoulders.
By January 2021, Honea’s inaccurate testimony had pressured prosecutors to drop the prison case towards the lads, as The Occasions beforehand reported. Beneath the earlier administration, the Sheriff’s Division selected to not criminally examine Honea, as a substitute giving him a 10-day suspension and chalking his misstatements as much as sloppiness. On Friday, the division stated he’s at present relieved of obligation, however wouldn’t say why, citing privateness legal guidelines.
Two years after the Gardena arrests, prosecutors charged Honea with perjury.
“Mendacity beneath oath damages the credibility of legislation enforcement and creates doubt and distrust by the general public,” Dist. Atty. George Gascón stated in a press release on the time.
Whereas Gascón has taken a extra aggressive stance on prosecuting cops than his predecessors, his leads to courtroom have been blended.
A perjury case filed towards two Lengthy Seashore cops additionally led to an acquittal final 12 months and one other perjury case involving the Sheriff’s Division was thrown out by a decide at a 2022 preliminary listening to, the place prosecutors face a a lot decrease burden of proof than they do at trial.
Throughout Gascón‘s tenure, the D.A.’s workplace additionally misplaced a manslaughter case towards Deputy Luke Liu, although these costs have been filed by his predecessor. In a current victory for the workplace earlier this 12 months, ex-deputy Andrew Lyons was sentenced to 30 days after pleading no contest within the 2019 killing of Ryan Twyman.
