{"id":407,"date":"2024-03-06T21:43:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T02:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shout.newdayrp.com\/?p=407"},"modified":"2024-03-13T22:55:48","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T02:55:48","slug":"marshals-investigating-doj-police-conduct-in-abuse-of-office-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shout.newdayrp.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/marshals-investigating-doj-police-conduct-in-abuse-of-office-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Marshals investigating DOJ, police conduct in abuse of office scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Shout News can reveal that the US Marshals are actively investigating police officers’ and prosecutor conduct regarding allegations of Abuse of Office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police alleged that former State Representative Hudson Welsh, Justine Stiletto, Dominic Luca and Koji Ando premeditated the murder of nine police officers<\/a> in a deliberate, planned and targeted way by charging the group with nine counts of attempted, aggravated first-degree murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the charges presented by police quickly fell apart when the Department of Justice, after reviewing the case, lowered the charges to Second Degree Murder. It’s understood that the evidence to achieve a charge of First Degree Murder wouldn’t have been sufficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A representative from the Los Santos Police Department was unavailable to comment on the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawyers representing the defendants have expressed serious concern over this incident, going as far as asking the Marshals to investigate the incident alleging that abuse of office occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Clients of the Firm [will] allege that they were unlawfully and maliciously targeted by officers and members of the Department of Justice who chose to pursue charges against them that lacked any semblance of probable cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each individual was forced to make a payment of $69,000 in bail – a total of $276,000 between them – to avoid being unjustly held in prison until trial.<\/p>\nMatt Murdank<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The difference between First and Second-Degree Murder is significant;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Attempted First-Degree<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To take actions that could be reasonably expected to cause the death of a person with premeditated intent<\/strong> that can be proved to be deliberate, planned, and targeted.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Attempted Second-Degree<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any person who takes actions that could reasonably be expected<\/strong> to unlawfully and intentionally cause the death of another person without premeditation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The maximum sentence and bail are also different, with a bail cap required on attempted second-degree charges, but not attempted first-degree charges. This is where Matt Murdank, from Hunt & OHagen, alleges the potential for abuse of office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I believe these individuals were targeted by officers and the State because of their identities and prior victories in court against law enforcement … There was no basis in law or fact to charge any of these individuals with such severe crimes. This is a clear-cut case of a violation of their Eighth Amendment rights under the United States Constitution
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Department of Justice made no efforts to further amend the charges during the bail hearing for Welsh and Stiletto or by coordinating with officers prior to the posting of the dockets. The State also sought to deny bail to at least one of the individuals and demanded bail be set at $69,000, further reinforcing its position that the charges were supposedly appropriate.<\/p>\nMatt Murdank<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The charges were then changed by a senior member of the DOJ eight days after they were initially pressed by police, the defendants' lawyers thanked the Senior Prosecutor for making the changes. The four defendants have since pleaded \u2018no contest\u2019 to the updated charges.<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States Marshals are investigating the allegations. Shout News reached out for comment but no response has been received as of the publication of this article.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

This situation has once again raised concerns about the potential for corrupt police behaviour inside the state. Shout News reminds those who have charges against them to always speak to a lawyer about their legal options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n