John Klene, et al. v. Doral Riggs, et al.
Published: Aug. 23, 2024 | Result Date: May 7, 2024 | Filing Date: Nov. 14, 2022 |Case number: 2:22-cv-08318 Settlement – $24,000,000
Judge
Court
CD CA
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Deirdre L. O'Connor
(Seamus Law)
Defendant
Hrach E. Agazaryan
(Lawrence, Beach, Allen & Choi PC)
Michael D. Allen
(Lawrence, Beach, Allen & Choi PC)
Facts
Plaintiffs, John Klene and Eduardo Dumbrique, brought a civil rights lawsuit, alleging that they were falsely arrested and convicted of murder and incarcerated for over 23 years. Decades prior, plaintiffs, affiliates of a gang, were charged with murder, and the case went to trial in 1998. One of their attorneys moved to dismiss the prosecution's case, alleging that investigators had engaged in various acts of misconduct, including using outrageous and suggestive tactics to influence a witness during the identification process. The court was not convinced that there was any police misconduct. During the trial, the jury heard testimony from that witness, who admitted that he was able to select one of the plaintiffs as a perpetrator because the officer had already shown him plaintiff's photo in a photographic lineup. The jury also heard testimony from witnesses who testified as to plaintiffs' whereabouts at the time of the murder. The jury found both plaintiffs guilty, and they were sentenced to life with parole and 29 years to life without parole. Plaintiffs filed several post-conviction petitions and provided evidence indicating which of their fellow gang members committed the murder. That individual later confessed to the murder on his deathbed, which set off a chain of events calling into question several related cases that resulted in unreliable convictions. In 2020, the DA investigated the evidence available at trial and post-trial and moved to dismiss the convictions in 2021. Plaintiffs then brought this suit. It was determined that police committed several blunders, including failing to follow up with a key witness and failing to document a witness interview with audio, video, or notetaking. The case settled.
Result
The case settled for $24 million.
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