Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504170079
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Human error by an LAPD computer operator was blamed Friday for the destruction of the evidence, said Deputy District Attorney Ed Nison. Police declined direct comment and referred all questions to Nison, who said the matter will be discussed in an April 28 hearing.
``The simple fact is, somebody screwed up,'' said Nison, who is prosecuting Snoop Doggy Dogg - Long Beach native Calvin Broadus - and two other men, McKinley Lee and Sean Abrams, for the Aug. 25, 1993 shooting death of Philip Woldemariam in a Palms-area park.
Nison downplayed the significance of the matter.
``It's pretty frustrating for everyone involved,'' he said. ``Fortunately, it should not impact the case. All along, the case has been an eyewitness case. The only physical evidence that is significant are the gunshot wounds to the victim.''
But David Kenner, who is representing Broadus on a team of defense attorneys, disagreed.
``I'm very troubled by this,'' he said. ``The circumstances are almost suspicious.''
Kenner pointed out that the destruction of the evidence coincided with his frustrated requests for access to it.
``I made a motion in December or January asking to see all physical evidence, but I didn't get much cooperation,'' Kenner said. ``The district attorney responded by asking what I meant by `all,' and I sent back the dictionary definition. Then the district attorney asked what I meant by `physical,' and I sent another letter. All this was happening at the same time the evidence was being destroyed.''
Kenner said he is considering what action to take, and may file a motion to dismiss charges against the defendants.
by CNB