Daily News (New York) March 1, 1995, Wednesday BYLINE: By MICHELLE CARUSO in Los Angeles and JERE HESTER in New York SECTION: News Pg. 8 LENGTH: 523 words
The credibility of O.J. Simpson's alibi witness crumbled yesterday as prosecutors charged her testimony was "coached" by the defense. The latest challenge to Rosa Lopez came after the defense turned over an eight-month-old interview tape a recording that prosecutors said contains "many glaring inconsistencies" with her testimony. "I have never heard a witness basically coached and told what to say through every bend and turn," said prosecutor Marcia Clark, after listening to the 15-minute tape in Judge Lance Ito's chambers. The maid, who worked next door to Simpson, has reported seeing the football legend's white Ford Bronco outside his home about the time his ex-wife and her pal were slain on June 12. But the tape highlighted contradictions in Lopez' statements, including: She made no mention of seeing the Bronco around the time of the slayings on the July 29 tape and she reported hearing Simpson's voice at 10 p.m., Clark said. She made no mention of her friend Sylvia Guerra on the tape, in an Aug. 18 statement or on the stand Monday. But in a July 29 defense report purportedly based on the taped interview Lopez said that Guerra came over for coffee around 9 p.m., stayed for 10 or 15 minutes and made a remark about seeing Simpson's Bronco parked outside. In the July 29 report, Lopez said she saw Simpson and a passenger drive away in his black Bentley between 8:30 and 9 p.m. In her Aug. 18 statement and on the witness stand she put the time at 9 p.m. In another wrinkle, Lopez' testimony Monday that she saw the Bronco shortly after 10 p.m. leaves Simpson with a far from airtight alibi. The defense's opening statement alleged that Lopez saw the vehicle at 10:15 p.m. the time prosecutors claim Simpson killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Lopez' hazier account could give the football legend time to make the six-minute drive to Nicole's condo. The jury has not heard Lopez' account and Ito delayed resumption of her testimony until tomorrow to give prosecutors time to prepare their cross-examination. The judge has ordered her testimony to be video-taped for future use because of fears the media-wary maid will flee to El Salvador. A tearful Lopez pleaded with the judge to let her return to her homeland but reluctantly agreed to appear tomorrow. "This is not my fault to work close to Mr. Simpson, to have seen and to have heard," she said through a translator. Simpson lawyer Johnnie Cochran insisted that the tape doesn't punch holes in Lopez' credibility. "We think she is entirely consistent," he said. And he angrily denied prosecution contentions that he concealed the tape. Simpson private eye Bill Pavelic claimed yesterday that he didn't tell defense attorneys that he had tape-recorded the interview until Monday. Meanwhile, newly released transcripts of an in-chambers hearing indicated that Ito might dismiss a juror as soon as today for misconduct. The "problem" juror is a 46-year-old black man who has worn items bearing the San Francisco 49ers logo the team with which Simpson ended his career. He would be the fourth juror bounced.
USA TODAY January 17, 1995, Tuesday, FINAL EDITION BYLINE: Gale Holland SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 3A LENGTH: 407 words DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
Fierce in-fighting on O.J. Simpson's legal force could force the ouster of one of his marquee-name lawyers, but the team is deep enough to take a loss. "Even a great baseball team has fights," says civil and criminal lawyer Leo Terrell. "The prosecution still has a very tough case to prove, and that's because of O.J.'s dream team." Lawyers Robert Shapiro and F. Lee Bailey appear to be in a power struggle - and one of them may not survive. A clash of egos among the legal talents was to be expected. But the public airing is an embarrassing distraction as the team prepares to lay out its case for the jury Thursday. Says Loyola University law professor Stanley Goldman, "They're either going to have to kiss and make up, or one of them is going to have to go." The feud had been simmering for months. Shapiro says it erupted over news leaks denigrating his role in the case. An internal investigation by former Los Angeles police detective Bill Pavelic traced the leaks to Bailey and his associates, he says. Shapiro reacted bitterly to the reports, which he described as "very painful." Shapiro and Bailey have a quarter-century of history together. Shapiro began his climb as a celebrity lawyer representing Bailey in a 1982 drunken-driving case, and he regarded him as a mentor. Bailey's also a courtroom legend, but his work has been eclipsed of late by others. But in recent days, it was Shapiro who appeared to slip into the background. Last week, Shapiro sat wordless next to Simpson for three days while Bailey grilled a prosecution domestic violence expert. "Bailey may be playing more of a role than Shapiro thinks he should be doing," Goldman says. Eventually, Shapiro threw Bailey out of his Century City offices, took his name off his legal stationery and has refused to drive with him or have his photograph taken with him. Any change in the chemistry of the team would enhance the growing power of lawyer Johnnie Cochran. Shapiro said Cochran, who is writing the opening statement, would rule on his request to dump Bailey. Most experts put their money on Shapiro to remain, but Goldman points out Simpson is in charge. "O.J. can fire any of them he wants, and Bailey's got too much trial experience to pass over," Goldman says. "It must be infuriating for O.J. Simpson to see important members of his team feuding in public," UCLA law professor Peter Arenella says. "His life is on the line."
LOAD-DATE: January 18, 1995 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: PHOTO, b/w, Sam Mircovich THE NATION; See related story; 01A
The State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) February 28, 1995, Sunday, EARLY AND CITY EDITIONS BYLINE: MATT KRASNOWSKI and NORMA MEYER Copley News Service SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 1 LENGTH: 792 words DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
A key witness for O.J. Simpson testified Monday she saw his Bronco at home about the time his ex-wife was killed, as a defense investigator stunned the court by revealing the existence of an audiotape that the defense said didn't exist.
Speaking before a video camera and to an empty jury box, Rosa Lopez, the former maid of Simpson's neighbor, said she saw the Bronco while walking her employer's dog shortly after 10 p.m. on June 12. She said she recalled seeing Simpson's car parked slightly askew from the curve. "Were you able to see any cars parked out on Rockingham there?" defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran Jr. asked. "Si. Yes," said Lopez, who spoke through a Spanish interpreter. "And what car did you see parked out there?" he inquired. "El Bronco," she replied. After Lopez was excused for the day, a defense investigator jolted the courtroom by acknowledging he had tape-recorded an undisclosed interview with Lopez last July. Hours earlier, defense attorney Carl Douglas repeatedly told Superior Court Judge Lance Ito that no interviews were recorded. Prosecutors contend the statement made no mention of the Bronco. In another dramatic development, prosecutors produced a surprise witness, a housekeeper named Sylvia Guerra, who they claim can contradict Lopez's account. Lopez and Guerra were ordered back to court today. Under questioning by Cochran, Lopez said her employers were in Europe on June 12 and her main task that day was taking care of their golden retriever. She said she walked the dog at 8:15 p.m. and "shortly after" 10 p.m. The time is critical for Simpson's defense because prosecutors contend his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman, were killed around 10:15 p.m. about two miles away. Lopez said she wasn't wearing a watch on the night, but checked her bedroom clock every time she left her room to go outside. Prosecutors are expected to seize on that point today in their cross-examination. Lopez in court didn't have her glasses and could not read a monitor less than two feet away. She had to borrow two different pairs of spectacles, one from defense lawyer F. Lee Bailey and another from her own attorney. The former maid, however, appeared to have a detailed recollection of the events nine months ago. She testified that about 9 p.m., she saw Simpson drive off in his black Bentley with a blonde-haired person. Simpson house guest Brian "Kato" Kaelin has said he and the Hall of Famer went to get hamburgers at McDonalds about that time. About 9:30 p.m., Lopez said she heard footsteps coming from Simpson's driveway, became frightened that it was a burglar and closed her drapes. "I was really afraid," Lopez said. "I looked out and duckeddown." After midnight, she said she heard men's voices and Simpson's black Akita dog howling and barking. "It barked and cried," she said, adding she did not fall asleep until 2 a.m. Testimony during Simpson's preliminary hearing indicated he had left his home in a limousine for a flight to Chicago about 11 p.m. The next morning, Lopez said Detective Mark Fuhrman came to her door and she told him what she heard. She said Fuhrman told her police would get back to her. "I'm still waiting for them," Lopez said. The defense contends Fuhrman, who is expected to take the stand later this week, is a racist who planted the bloody glove at Simpson's estate to frame Earlier Monday, Douglas told Ito there were no notes or taped interviews of Lopez to give prosecutors, after revealing the defense failed to turn over a July 28 statement with her as required under evidence laws. Deputy District Attorney Marcia Clark told the judge that the July 28 interview varied considerably from an Aug. 18 statement Lopez made in which the Bronco was mentioned. As the battle over the undisclosed interview heated up, prosecutors asked that defense investigator Bill Pavelic, who interviewed Lopez, be brought into court and put under oath. Under questioning by Ito, Bill Pavelic said he believed he had some notes about his conversations with Lopez. "Do you have any tape recordings of any statements?" Ito asked. "I tape recorded the first statement, which was the July statement,"Bill Pavelic said. Gasps filled the room. "Tomorrow morning, I'm going to order you to come to court with those items, Ito said. "I shall do my best to get those items,"Bill Pavelic said. "No, don't do your best, have them here tomorrow," an irked Ito said. Before the revelation, Clark suggested the defense attorneys should be disbarred for failing to turn over the statement. She asked Ito to punish the defense in a number of ways, including admonishing jurors that Simpson's attorneys had committed misconduct. LOAD-DATE: March 1, 1995 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH TYPE: NEWS
The Daily Review (Hayward, CA) October 29, 2003 Wednesday SECTION: LOCAL & REGIONAL NEWS LENGTH: 311 words
DR. HENRY LEE: Forensic authority who has testified in more than 1,000 legal proceedings, including for the defense in the O.J. Simpson double-murder case. Also consulted in JonBenet Ramsey murder and President Kennedy's assassination. DR. CYRIL WECHT: Nationally recognized forensic expert who examined remains of Modesto's Chandra Levy; coroner of Allegheny County, Pa., which includes Pittsburgh. BILL PAVELIC: Private investigator and former veteran Los Angeles police detective. Previously worked on O.J. Simpson's defense team. GARY ERMOIAN: Local private investigator retained when Modesto police began focusing on Scott Peterson. Authorities secretly monitored part of one of his calls to Peterson. FOR THE PROSECUTION STEVE JACOBSON: Investigator with the Stanislaus County district attorney's office and former police officer. Supervised wiretaps on Peterson's phones. JON BUEHLER: Modesto police detective. Amber Frey, Peterson's girlfriend, reported to Buehler after telephone conversations with Peterson, which continued at least a month after Frey went public with their romance. CRAIG GROGAN: Modesto police detective and lead investigator in the Peterson case. Previously named in a federal lawsuit filed by the family of 11-year-old Alberto Sepulveda, who was killed by another officer during a raid. AL BROCCHINI: Modesto police detective. Helped escort Peterson from San Diego to Modesto after his arrest in April. Defense lawyers say Brocchini mishandled a hair found in Peterson's boat. JAMES BRAZELTON: Stanislaus County district attorney since 1996 and a prosecutor since 1985. Previously worked as a policeman and in private practice. JOHN GOOLD: Chief deputy district attorney since 1999 and former Bay Area policeman. Often serves as a spokesman for the Peterson prosecutors. SCRIPPS-MCCLATCHY WESTERN SERVICE LOAD-DATE: October 29, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
240 of 244 DOCUMENTS Los Angeles Times October 31, 1986, Friday, Home Edition BYLINE: By MICHAEL SEILER and EDWARD J. BOYER, Times Staff Writers SECTION: Metro; Part 2; Page 6; Column 1; Metro Desk
LENGTH: 413 words
Los Angeles police laid siege for four hours at an Echo Park drugstore Thursday -- only to find when they finally entered after dark that there was no sign of a supposed holdup man believed to have been holding five people hostage. What heavily armed Special Weapons and Tactics team officers discovered were the owner's wife, a clerk and two customers hiding in a storage room. Later, a suspect was taken into custody at a home in the area. Police said the incident began shortly before 3 p.m., when a woman employee at Taylor's Pharmacy, 1700 W. Temple St., ran outside to report that the man who had robbed the place of narcotics two days earlier was paying a return visit. 8 People Rescued The SWAT team responded, eventually rescuing eight people who did not dare walk down the stairs from a physical rehabilitation center on the second floor, because the stairs went right past the drugstore doorway. The Glendale Boulevard off-ramp of the Hollywood Freeway and streets for blocks around the pharmacy were closed to traffic. Hundreds of spectators gathered. While marksmen trained rifles on the store, police negotiators tried to make contact by telephone, but someone kept hanging up on them. It turned out that one of the people hiding in the storage room was simply trying to plug in a portable phone and did not have much luck. At last, owner Shelton Lee, 45, wearied of the bathroom in which he had taken refuge, emerged at about 7 p.m. Then the officers went in. "No suspect at the location," Capt. Ron Banks reported. "Apparently before we were able to secure the building, the suspect left." Late Thursday, police booked James J. Drake, 40, for investigation of robbery in the incident.
Received Call From Neighbor Officers said they were called to Drake's home on Kensington Road in Echo Park by a neighbor. Drake's mother had sought help from the neighbor after her son began acting irrationally, police said. "He was sweating and talking excitedly -- symptoms of recent drug use," Detective Bill Pavelic said. "We called him from next door and talked him into surrendering." Drake was taken to Queen of Angels Hospital for treatment of a possible drug overdose. The victims were taken to the hospital and they were able to identify Drake, officers said. Detectives said it appeared that the man who entered the pharmacy Thursday afternoon had stolen some drugs.
Times staff writer Nieson Himmel contributed to this article. LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: Photo, Members of Los Angeles Police Swat team climbed atop an Echo Park drugstore in which it was believed that an armed man was holding five hostages, above. Lower photo shows LAPD officer watching building from across the street during long police siege. Robert Gabirel; Boris Yaro / Los Angeles Times Copyright 1986 The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times All Rights Reserved
