LOS ANGELES (AP) — An Orange County judge has tossed a murder conviction because evidence from a jail informant wasn’t turned over to the defense.
Leonel Vega got life four years ago for a gang murder.
Some prosecution evidence came from Oscar Moriel. Moriel also provided information against Scott Dekraai, who pleaded guilty last month to killing eight people at a California hair salon. Dekraai’s lawyers argue that authorities improperly recorded and concealed jailhouse informant evidence.
The Los Angeles Times (http://bit.ly/UKLvBY) says during one Dekraai hearing, it was revealed that Moriel took some 300 pages of notes but Vega’s attorneys only got four pages.
Prosecutors Monday asked a judge to vacate Vega’s conviction and sentence but they plan to retry him.
Vega attorney Todd Melnik says he believes other convictions could be vacated.
