Pubdate: Wed, 09 Aug 2000 Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA) Copyright: 2000 The Fresno Bee Contact: http://www.fresnobee.com/man/opinion/letters.html Website: http://www.fresnobee.com/ Forum: http://www.fresnobee.com/man/projects/webforums/opinion.html SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JUDGE OVERTURNS MAN'S DRUG CONVICTION LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A judge has overturned a man's 1997 drug selling conviction because jurors were not told that an officer who testified at trial had been relieved of duty for allegedly using drugs himself. James Bryant, who had been serving a 12-year prison sentence, is expected to be released as early as next week, according to a report in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times. Superior Court Judge Darlene Schempp said during a Monday hearing that Bryant likely would have been acquitted "had the truth been known about Officer Gustavo Raya." Raya had been relieved of duty when he testified against Bryant. At the time, Raya faced two dozen departmental charges, including: improper handling of narcotics evidence; using and possessing drugs and repeatedly threatening his wife with a gun. An LAPD disciplinary panel later found Raya guilty of the charges and he was fired from the department. Raya was a former narcotics officer in the San Fernando Valley whose disciplinary problems were reported in June by the Times. After the article appeared, prosecutors sent at least 140 letters to defense attorneys involved in cases that Raya was subpoenaed to testify. The letters notified defense attorneys that new information had been discovered that may help a defendant's case. The credibility of police as witnesses has been challenged by Raya's case and the ongoing police corruption probe centering on the department's Rampart station. Judges have overturned more than 100 convictions since the Rampart scandal broke last September. Most of those cases involve Rafael Perez, the former anti-gang officer who became an informant as part of a plea bargain for stealing cocaine from an evidence room. In a related matter, the Los Angeles City Council agreed Tuesday to pay $580,000 to a man who spent eight months in jail after he was allegedly framed on a gun possession charge. Miguel Hernandez claims Perez and his former partner, Nino Durden, planted a gun on him in October 1996. Durden was arrested last week and faces attempted murder and other charges related to alleged wrongdoing at the station. The settlement for Hernandez is the third payout -- and largest to date-- from the scandal. The city attorney's office has estimated that total liability could exceed $125 million from Rampart police misconduct. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D