The lawsuit claims the District Attorney and Sheriff continue to use informants illegally as part of a long-standing snitch program, despite official claims that the illegal use of informants is the work of a few rogue deputies.
Tag: Thomas Goethals
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
Sheriff’s Department and DA’s Office the Focus of 2017’s Jailhouse Snitch Scandal
In 2017, with federal and state investigations underway, the spotlight turned to the Sheriff’s Department and why it took years for the department to turn over key evidence related to informants.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, Seal Beach, Top Stories
Dekraai Sentenced to 8 Consecutive Life Terms in State Prison
Scott Evans Dekraai, who committed the worst mass shooting in Orange County history at a Seal Beach beauty salon in 2011, was sentenced Friday to eight consecutive life terms in state prison without the possibility of parole, one term for each of his eight victims.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
No Death Penalty For Seal Beach Mass Murderer Scott Dekraai, Judge Rules
Confessed mass murderer Scott Evans Dekraai will receive life in prison after Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals Friday blocked him from receiving the death penalty.
Posted inGovernment, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
OCDA Responds to Grand Jury Report on “Myth” of Jailhouse Informant Scandal
In an official response to the Orange County Grand Jury’s June report, which called the jailhouse informant scandal a “myth,” District Attorney Tony Rackauckas agreed with most of the report’s findings, except for those which criticized his department for a lack of training protocols and procedure.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
Why Did It Take So Long for the Sheriff’s Department to Turn Over Jailhouse Informant Records?
It’s one of several questions Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals is considering before ruling Aug. 18 on whether or not confessed mass murderer Scott Evans Dekraai faces the death penalty
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
Judge’s Decision on Whether Dekraai Faces Death Penalty Hinges on Credibility of OC Sheriff’s Department
Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals will announce Friday if mass murderer Scott Evans Dekraai faces the death penalty in a case that upended at least six other criminal convictions, damaged the reputations of both the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office and unveiled the “jailhouse snitch scandal.”
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
Judge Set to Rule on Whether Seal Beach Mass Murderer Faces Death Penalty
Attorneys gave their final arguments at a hearing Thursday, which addresses allegations by the defense that the failure by prosecutors and the Sheriff’s Department to turn over records in the past – and the potential that they still haven’t turned over everything – suggest Dekraai won’t receive a fair penalty trial and he should be spared the death penalty.
Posted inGovernment, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
Sheriff Hutchens Testifies At Court Hearing on Informants Scandal
She testified she believes there was no widespread misuse of jailhouse informants by her department, but sheriff’s deputies moved confidential informants in the jails to elicit incriminating statements from defendants over the course of years.
Posted inGovernment, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
Sheriff’s Deputy Says, Despite Gap in Jail Log, Deputies Never Stopped Making Entries
Orange County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Jonathan Larson testified at a court hearing Thursday that he recalled continuous use of the Special Handling log, daily notes kept by jail deputies, during his year in the Special Handling unit, the same year there is an unexplained six-month gap in the log.
