West
Felony case against LA prosecutor spilled out of co-workers's boozy clash with cops: docs
The 11-count felony case alleging anti-police misconduct from Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon’s top ethics officer stemmed from the drunken arrest of one of his most trusted confidants, who recorded himself clashing with officers and interrupting their investigation, according to court documents.
California Attorney General Robert Bonta announced the charges against Diana Teran in April.
According to an affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital and Fox News, the case against her grew out of an investigation launched into the December 2021 arrest of Joseph Iniguez, who was Gascon’s chief of staff at the time and has since been promoted to chief deputy district attorney.
VIDEO SHOWS LA DA GEORGE GASCON’S RIGHT-HAND MAN ARRESTED IN DUI STOP: ‘YOU’VE PULLED OVER THE WRONG PERSON’
Diana Teran, the former head of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office’s Ethics and Integrity unit, pictured in an April booking photo after her arrest on 11 felony charges for allegedly taking and/or misusing data on sheriff’s deputies without authorization. (Los Angeles County)
Azusa police took Iniguez to jail after stopping his then-fiance in December 2021 for an alleged traffic violation and on suspicion of drunken driving. Earlier this week, Fox News Digital obtained video of the arrest – which showed him telling officers, “You’ve pulled over the wrong person, let me tell you.”
According to a police report connected to the incident, Iniguez threatened to have the arresting officer placed on the “Brady list,” although that exchange is not heard on the video.
The list is a database of officers who have been accused of wrongdoing and can be used by defense attorneys to discredit them in court.
Read the affidavit
In the clip recorded on his cellphone, Iniguez urged the officers to check his license plates, which could have revealed to them that he worked for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He admitted to drinking at the wedding and repeatedly interrupted the officer as he attempted to question the driver. Also during the encounter, he urges his fiance not to speak with the officers, a potential violation of DA policy and state law.
Iniguez sued Azusa over his arrest, alleging a federal civil rights violation, and received a $10,000 settlement, described by critics as a “nuisance payment,” last year.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon meets with media in Grand Park on March 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
‘WOKE’ CALIFORNIA PROSECUTOR ‘IRONICALLY IN CHARGE OF ETHICS’ CHARGED WITH FELONIES
On Tuesday, the Azusa Police Department said in a statement that its officers fully complied with state law and internal policies.
“City of Azusa and Chief [Rocky] Wenrick stand firmly behind our employees and the decisions made during [Iniguez’s] arrest,” the department said.
But while looking into Iniguez’s alleged Brady threat, investigators say they found evidence against Teran.
An Asuza, California, police officer escorts George Gascon’s right-hand man, Joseph Iniguez, into a cell after a 2021 stop for public intoxication. (Asuza Police Department)
“The investigation commenced after an LADA official who oversees the databases threatened to put a police officer in the LADA’s Brady database after the officer had arrested him for disrupting a December 2021 traffic stop investigation of his fiance,” the affidavit reads. “Our investigation of that official led to the conduct of Diana Maria Teran, who was an LADA special advisor with constructive responsibility for the Brady and ORWITS databases at the LADA.”
TOP ADVISER TO LEFT-WING CALIFORNIA DA CHARGED WITH NEARLY A DOZEN FELONIES
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Brady material covers criminal convictions, false statements and administration investigations involving dishonesty or “serious misconduct” against law enforcement officers. The Officer and Recurrent Witness Information Tracking System (ORWITS) is a similar but separate database with less vetting.
Joseph Iniguez sits beside his boss, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, at the Reform L.A. Jails Summit + Day Party: Mental Health Matters, on Nov. 9, 2019, in Pasadena, California. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Patrisse Cullors)
Before joining Gascon’s office, Teran worked in oversight for the sheriff’s department and had access to more than 1,600 confidential files on members of law enforcement, as well as documents related to internal affairs investigations.
She left the sheriff’s department in 2018, but after joining Gascon’s office in 2021, allegedly continued to use material from those files, which she is now accused of illegally taking and accessing.
“Teran repeatedly used data from those LASD personnel files and internal emails and documents in a surreptitious attempt to add peace officer names to LADA’s Brady and ORWITS databases.”
Teran’s defense attorney has said he believes she will beat the state’s charges.
Iniguez has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing in connection with the case against Teran.
A still image taken from jailhouse surveillance video shows Los Angeles Chief Deputy District Attorney Joseph Iniguez making a phone call from lockup after a 2021 arrest for public intoxication. (Asuza Police Department)
“No one is above the law,” said Bonta, a Democrat, in a press release announcing the charges against Teran. “Public officials are called to serve the people and the State of California with integrity and honesty. At the California Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the people of California and hold those who break the law accountable.”
Gascon previously defended his Brady policy and said he would cooperate with state investigators.
“When I took office, we developed a protocol that ensured we complied with our constitutional obligations under Brady, which requires us to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to the defense, a category that includes law enforcement’s prior misconduct, while simultaneously complying with state and federal law around privacy,” he said. “I stand by that protocol.”
His office deferred questions on the Iniguez incident to his private attorney.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon is running for re-election amid harsh criticism and concerns about crime. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Iniguez’s fiance, who was driving the car before the stop, was handcuffed but not charged, and authorities later dropped the public intoxication case against Iniguez.
He also came under fire in recent weeks after the district attorney’s office said it would remove the two lead prosecutors on a child murder trial from the case before sentencing over an apparent conflict of interest – involving Teran. He later backtracked, and they remained on the case after it was transferred to a unit Teran had no connection to.
Read the full article from Here
SEATTLE – President Donald Trump fired a newly appointed federal prosecutor in Seattle less than an hour after he was named to the position.
What we know:
Former King County judge Roger Rogoff was assigned to take over as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington on Wednesday. The seat has remained empty since Charles Neil Floyd was appointed as First Assistant U.S. Attorney back in February, though he kept running the office as western Washington’s U.S. District Attorney.
Rogoff was named to the position by Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo, but soon after the judicial order was posted, the White House blocked the move and fired Rogoff.
The backstory:
The Trump administration made similar moves in the firings of two other U.S. attorneys — Donal Kinsella of New York and Desiree Grace of New Jersey — the same day they were sworn in. Both were set to replace Trump-appointed interim judges, but were fired shortly after getting the job.
Local perspective:
Western Washington is not a typical case though, as the district hasn’t had a permanent U.S. Attorney since now-Attorney General Nick Brown left the position in 2023. Since then, there’s been several interim U.S. attorneys, which only allows them to serve for a limited time.
Rogoff was set to serve as acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington until President Trump selected a replacement. Instead, the position remains unfilled.
What they’re saying:
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote the following in response to Rogoff’s firing:
“District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them. WDWA judges abandoned the time-honored process of consultation with the administration so that the selected U.S. Attorney is qualified to serve in the administration. Roger Rogoff has been fired by the President.”
However, Senator Patty Murray criticized the decision, saying Rogoff was qualified for the position and appointed legally. She issued the following statement:
“Roger Rogoff’s is eminently qualified—throughout his career, he has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to public service, and he was appointed legally by the federal judges in the Western District of Washington. He should have never been fired, but the President wants to appoint an out-of-touch extremist who will put Trump over the rule of law. This administration doesn’t want to deal with advice and consent—they just want to install cronies to carry out a corrupt political agenda. The people of Washington state deserve someone in this role who will enforce the law fairly and responsibly—not some Trump administration sock puppet. The President needs to understand that DOJ works for the American people—it’s not his personal law firm to enforce his mob-style politics.”
What’s next:
A federal lawsuit could be in order challenging Rogoff’s dismissal, however no immediate announcements were made by state leaders.
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The Source: Information in this story came from order filed in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington, statements from acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and Senator Patty Murray, and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco fishermen recount harrowing rescue after boat capsizes near Alcatraz
SAN FRANCISCO – While one person died after a cabin cruiser sank in the San Francisco Bay on Tuesday afternoon, a harrowing rescue near Alcatraz Island saved 16 lives.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the San Francisco Fire Department continue to search for three missing people who went overboard after the vessel went down around 3:30 p.m.
Clifford Joseph Boisa, 79, of Sutter County, was pronounced dead following the incident. However, 16 others were brought to safety, many of them rescued by civilian boaters who rushed to help. Among the Good Samaritans were fishermen Mike Montoya and Justin Marceline, who were aboard the Khea, a 22-foot Boston Whaler.
At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Coast Guard Incident Commander Jarod Toczko praised the fishermen and a nearby kiteboarder for their heroic actions.
A rush to help
Dig deeper:
Montoya and Marceline were on the water when they noticed signs of trouble nearby.
“I turned around and I saw a plume of either smoke or steam,” Montoya said. “I just knew that somebody was in distress.”
Montoya told his partner they needed to move their boat closer to investigate. When they arrived, they found people struggling to stay afloat in the Bay’s frigid waters.
The rescuers began throwing life jackets and flotation devices to those in the water, pulling victims aboard as quickly as possible. Many of the victims were exhausted and unable to pull themselves out of the water.
Witnesses recount people ‘trapped’ inside
What they’re saying:
As they pulled survivors aboard, Montoya said he saw people trapped inside the cabin of the sinking vessel, banging on the windows.
“We were throwing fishing weights at the window, trying to get it to break, and we handed a guy a fishing weight that was in the water, and he didn’t have a life jacket on,” Montoya said.
In total, Montoya and Marceline pulled nine people onto their boat and brought them to safety.
Marceline was prepared to jump into the Bay to help more victims, but Montoya stopped him, warning of debris and other dangers beneath the surface.
“My first thought was to kick my shoes off and get down to my underwear and jump in and start to get the elderly people off the boat, because it was elderly people helping elderly people and it wasn’t going fast enough,” Marceline said.
Memorial service turns tragically fatal
Survivors told the fishermen they had gathered on the water for a memorial service. Authorities later confirmed that the victims and survivors were relatives and close friends holding a memorial when the boat went down.
Toczko said the 50-foot cabin cruiser was capable of carrying the number of people on board, but noted that investigators must consider several factors regarding the boat’s stability.
The investigation into what caused the vessel to sink is ongoing.
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