A judge from the County of San Diego refused to reject the accusations of murder against a man in the face of a new trial in the murder of a childhood friend, but rather reduced the potential penalty due to the “reprehensible” conduct of the former prosecution team.
Justice Daniel Goldstein judged on Tuesday that former prosecutor Ebrahim Baytieh – who is now a county judge – was not truthful during the accusation as well as during a recent special hearing. Goldstein’s decision means that accused Paul Gentile Smith will not face an accusation of particular circumstance during the murder of 1988 and cannot be sentenced to perpetuity without parole if it was found guilty.
Smith was sentenced in 2010 for stabbing a child from childhood Robert Haugen to Sunset Beach and set fire to Sunset Beach and set fire. The conviction was canceled in 2021 in the midst of allegations according to which Baytieh and the prosecution team have chosen that several prison informants were illegally used in the case. A new trial has been ordered and moved to San Diego County to avoid a conflict of interest, because Baytieh is now sitting on the bench of Orange County.
Deputy Public Defender Scott Sanders, who represents Smith, applauded Goldstein’s decision, even if she failed to reject the accusations.
“This is a devastating decision rightly for the prosecution team led by Baytieh,” said Sanders. “The Court has meticulously analyzed the facts and the law and concluded that the accusation was given that the Goldstein judge described as” reprehensible “conduct justifying the rejection of the particular circumstance which would have made Mr. Smith ineligible for parole.”
Orange County District Prosecutor Todd Spitzer, who was not in office when the Smith affair was tried for the first time, said that he was not surprised by the Goldstein Order.
“The judge chose the appropriate appeal due to scandalous government conduct from Ebrahim Baytieh,” said Spitzer. “The court specifically noted that it was not true under oath. I dismissed him because he lied to the Ministry of Justice and he was not trustworthy as a prosecutor. »»
Goldstein found problems in the way in which the district prosecutor’s office, then led by Tony Rackauckas, and the Sheriff Department of Orange Comté have dealt with evidence in the case.
“Whatever the intention of the 2009-2010 prosecution team, the way the evidence was recorded and transferred between the OCSD and the OCDA were in the grip of abuse and showed a level of carelessness that bordered bad faith,” wrote Goldstein.
It is a story in development. Please check the updates.
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