Judge tosses case, calls Fullerton police ‘sloppy’

SANTA ANA – An Orange County judge has thrown out a case against three men including one who faced 25 years to life in prison for robbery – after a Fullerton police video that could have shown what happened was deleted.

Superior Court Judge Steven Bromberg dismissed charges against Michael Cisneros and the two others last week, characterizing Fullerton police work as “sloppy” and “disturbing.”

“I understand Fullerton has been going through some issues,” Bromberg said in his decision. “Notwithstanding that, I’m finding that the level at this point of the police work is disturbing.”

The video was requested, he said, “but somebody at the police department, most likely, dropped the ball.”

The case stems from the downtown Fullerton arrest of Cisneros, Daniel Alvarez and Juan Renteria on suspicion of stealing a gold chain in October 2012.

Video shows Thomas being struck by batons, wrestled to the ground, shot with a Taser and struck with the end of the Taser. He was left unconscious, lying in a pool of blood, and died five days later. Three then-Fullerton officers face criminal charges in the case.

“In light of Kelly Thomas, Fullerton Police Department should be doing (investigations) better and cleaner than everybody else,” Fascenelli said. “As far as this case is concerned, it’s definitely sloppy police work,” he said.

“As far as this case is concerned, it’s definitely sloppy police work,” he said.

Fullerton police Capt. Lorraine Jones said, “Everybody is entitled to their opinion.”

“I believe Fullerton Police Department does the best job every day investigating the crimes that are reported,” she said.

Videos Were Deleted

Jones said all videos were being retained for two to 2 1/2 weeks at the time of the incident, but with equipment upgrades earlier this year, videos – digital then and now – are being saved for one year.

“At the time, anybody who asked for a copy had a very small window to request it,” she said. The older videos are automatically deleted as new data takes its space, Jones said.

Deputy District Attorney Colby Burchell said the case is being reviewed for potential future action.

“I respect what the judge said, but I disagree with what his decision was,” Burchell said. “He’s basically saying it’s a constitutional violation, and I am not sure that the defense met the burden for that.”

“I really believe that we can prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt,” he added.

Detective Gary Sirin, to whom requests for video preservation would go, testified that no requests were made.

Bromberg noted that Cisneros pleaded with Detective Chris Wren at the time of his arrest to look at the video, and the prosecutor made a request for it as well

“If I had video cameras of what took place, that’s part of my job,” Wren is heard telling Cisneros on a police audio recording. “My job is not to arrest people that aren’t guilty.”

But the detective never followed through, Bromberg said in his decision.

“Well, if it’s part of his job, good grief, why in the world isn’t he at least making an inquiry of somebody?” the judge asked at a May 3 hearing in his eighth-floor courtroom, which was packed by Cisneros’ relatives, some of whom wept when he dismissed the case.

“They have radios, they have communication,” Bromberg continued, according to a transcript of the hearing. “We have cameras here…. The point is, no one looked for those cameras. I’m perplexed on this.”

Deputy District Attorney Anna Chinowth said the accused men were identified and the burden was on the defense “to show that the evidence was either not disclosed or that what was destroyed is exculpatory.”

The police need to look for “information when they have an idea or a reasonable belief that the evidence would exonerate the defendants, and in this case we do not believe that that was the case,” Chinowth said.

Capt. Jones said her department works closely with the District Attorney’s Office and cooperates with prosecutors “to ensure successful conclusions to the cases.”

Previous Crime

Fascenelli said Cisneros, 26, of La Habra, who faced the most time of the three men charged in the case because he was convicted of robbing a pizza delivery man when he was 16, was stoic when the case was dismissed.

Renteria and Alvarez faced a maximum of three years in prison if convicted.

“The odds of something like this being granted is really, really rare,” the defense attorney said. “Some may say this guy got off on a technicality, but it’s really the Constitution.”

Cisneros, a handyman who’s helping raise a 5-year-old daughter, said the dismissal of the case was “the hanniest day of my life” “It was surreal…. The whole thing was just a nightmare,” he said.

“I just pretty much got kidnapped by the police,” Cisneros said. “All (Wren) had to do was take us to police station and look at that video and let me go home tonight. Instead it took seven months.”

Cisneros says he was with his friend Alvarez and did not know Renteria and some others they met that night.

Judge Bromberg said he doesn’t know if the men stole a gold chain, but “they’re presumed innocent.”

Contact the writer: 714-834-3773 or vjolly@ocregister.com

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Judge tosses case, calls Fullerton police ‘sloppy’