He was asked about the government’s motion that led to the dismissal without prejudice of the charges against Patrol Officer Florencio Richards in Dec. 2009.
The case was handled by Detective Christopher Leon Guerrero who was himself charged with extortion last November.
Ernest, in an e-mail said, the AGO, “like all prosecutors’ offices throughout the United States, reviews each individual case for a number of factors.”
He said these include, but are not limited to the: 1) facts of the case; 2) interest of the victims; 3) interests of the community as a whole; 4) rights of the defendant; 5) likelihood of success at trial; 6) integrity and availability of all witnesses; and most importantly, 7) the interest of justice.
“We follow this general protocol in all cases, regardless of any outside issues,” Ernest said.
“Detective Guerrero’s current situation is just one of the factors we consider in evaluating cases in accord with the above criteria,” he added.
“It is important to remember that in a typical case, the police officer is just one of many witnesses,” he said.
“It is also important to remember that Detective Guerrero is innocent until proven guilty, a right we all enjoy, and I certainly have no comment on his specific situation,” Ernest added.
A resident who requested not to be named earlier questioned the dismissal without prejudice of the charges against Richards.
The resident noted that Leon Guerrero’s criminal case remains pending.
The detective has been suspended since November.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Leon Guerrero last November on charges of extorting money from drivers of illegal taxicabs, which the detective denied.
Following the dismissal of the burglary case against him, and after 30 days of retraining, Richards was reinstated to active duty in February.
Two weeks ago, Richards and a woman were arrested on “ice” trafficking charges.
