Thursday, Jul. 09, 2009
Defendant tries to discredit case during San Luis Obispo bank heist retrial
Misidentification of other suspect is cited by L.A. man defending himself against robbery charges
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closeA Los Angeles-area man accused of orchestrating a 2007 bank robbery in San Luis Obispo is pointing to the misidentification of a suspect accused in the crime by a police informant to poke holes in the prosecution’s case.
Leonard Jones — the accused ringleader of the group police called the Big Money Bandits — was back in court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing in his retrial in the robbery of Downey Savings and Loan on Nov. 21, 2007.
A trial against Jones charging him with the heist last year along with three other people resulted in a deadlocked jury.
In the same trial, he was found guilty of conspiring to rob Los Padres Bank in San Luis Obispo on Dec. 13, 2007, with a group of six others from the Los Angeles area.
Prosecutors say Jones was one of four people involved in the bank stickup with a BB gun that netted an estimated $8,400, according to bank officials.
District Attorney’s Office officials say that even with the mistaken identification of the suspect by the police informant, evidence points to Jones’ guilt.
Law enforcement officials allege police informant Karl Jones said Leonard Jones brought gang members to rob Los Padres because the Downey heist was an easy crime to pull off less than a month earlier.
Leonard Jones is representing himself in the retrial. He posed questions to District Attorney’s Office investigator Scott Odom about how Karl Jones mistook suspect Ean Domingo for Michael Smith — both of the Los Angeles area — in photos shown to Karl Jones by authorities.
Smith’s DNA was found on the BB gun, and he has since pleaded no contest, which results in a conviction without admitting guilt, to the Downey robbery.
Domingo has been cleared of the crime, and Smith is expected to testify against Leonard Jones today.
Odom said that Karl Jones later admitted his mistake and correctly identified Smith as the suspect.
The two men have similar gang monikers, and Karl Jones may have confused them because Smith was wearing a do-rag — which covers the top of the head — at the time of the crime, when the group allegedly used Karl Jones’ home in San Luis Obispo to divide the stolen money, Odom said.
While Leonard Jones tried to poke holes, Deputy District Attorney Gregory Devitt pointed to evidence that included calls coming from Leonard Jones’ phone that were recorded near the bank shortly before and after the crime was committed.
Leonard Jones’ calls were placed to DeJuan Javier, who was convicted in May 2008 by a county jury of robbery and criminal street gang activity in the heist.
The fourth person believed to be involved in the crime — a woman who cased the bank before the robbery — has not been identified by authorities.
Los Angeles Police Department officers showed photos Wednesday and testified to tattoos on Javier and Smith that pointed to the robbery being a gang-related crime.
They said that robberies often help promote the status of a gang and provide funds for guns, drugs and illegal operations.
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