Victim’s family says LA prosecutor sides with killer, seeks her dismissal

An attorney for the family of a man shot to death during a robbery is seeking to disqualify a former public defender and now special adviser to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, accusing her of siding with the killer's efforts to get out of prison early under new juvenile sentencing guidelines.

"The district attorney's position is now firmly aligned with the defense," reads a motion filed Friday by Kathleen M. Cady, a partner at Dordulian Law Group, on behalf of the family of Louis Amela, killed in 2015 in Palmdale. "Gascon's policies violate the law and his delegation of these cases leaves no one representing the victims."

Alex Bastian, a special adviser to Gascon, said in a statement Tuesday the district attorney disputes Cady's version of events and will contest the disqualification motion.

Gascon was elected on promises of reducing the county's incarceration rates but has come under heavy criticism from many of his own prosecutors and from victims rights groups as the Los Angeles County crime rate has soared. He is now facing a potential recall. Critics have been particularly incensed that Gascon hired former public defenders to serve in his leadership team instead of promoting some longtime prosecutors.

In her motion, Cady accused Alisa Blair, a former deputy public defender who left her job on Jan. 3 to work for Gascon, of fighting to have Andrew Cachu released early from prison. Cachu was two months shy of 18 when he shot and killed Amela. He was tried as an adult and convicted of murder and robbery with special gang enhancements. Cachu was sentenced to 50 years to life in state prison in 2017.

California prosecutors were barred from charging juveniles as adults following the 2016 passage of Proposition 57. Because the law was retroactive, Cachu was granted a hearing to determine if his case should be moved to juvenile court for resentencing. That was all done before Gascon took office but he has vowed not to try any juveniles as adults.

Cady's disqualification motion is based on a declaration written by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Teri Bernstein, who said he witnessed Blair speak with the defendant's mother outside the courtroom on May 10. Cady wrote that Blair did not speak with the victim's family.

Instead, "outside of the courtroom, Ms. Blair again had contact with the defendant's mother and told her something like, 'Don't worry, he will get out,'" Cady wrote.

Cady also accused Blair of taking credit for writing most of Gascon's policy on prosecuting juveniles.

"Ms. Blair, and effectively the district attorney's office, have no respect or concern for victims' rights. All of the above illustrates a shocking departure from a prosecutor's sacrosanct obligation to ethically defend victims of violent crime," Cady wrote.

Cady filed a supplemental brief on Tuesday that included a transcript of a May 10 jail call between Cachu and his mother during which the mother excitedly told Cachu she believed Blair was going to take over his case. According to the brief, Cachu's mother said Blair gave her a look of reassurance and said, "The way she told me was like, Girl, we got this," but also said that "she can't talk to me because she's on the people's side."

Bastian, the special adviser to Gascon, said in a statement Tuesday, "The district attorney has made his position on youth justice very clear. His position is based on the science and data available that shows that by focusing on ways to rehabilitate children prior to their full development of their behavioral and cognitive abilities, we can get better results that advance public safety."

Bastian added there are significant inconsistencies between Cachu's phone call with his mother versus the sheriff's deputy's account of what took place.

"We look forward to addressing the inconsistencies and Ms. Cady's standing issue at the next court date," Bastian said.

Cady's disqualification motion is anticipated to be heard July 29 before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Brian Yep.