Today, at a court appearance at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office dismissed all charges filed against Deputy Jessica Lynn.
The charges were brought by former DA George Gascón, a noted anti-police “progressive prosecutor,” and included multiple felony counts of filing a false report and concealing evidence, as well as a single count of theft, arising out of a traffic stop.
Lynn, a veteran deputy with the department, had stopped a car for a valid vehicle code violation and conducted a search thereafter which yielded bindles of drugs and paraphernalia. The two occupants of the suspect vehicle had lengthy criminal histories, including a female passenger with a known drug past. The female passenger was cited in the field for the drugs and paraphernalia she possessed.
Hours later, the female passenger suspect went to the station and made an allegation that she was missing hundreds of dollars from her purse. Lynn’s bodycam was running during the traffic stop and did not depict the existence of hundreds of dollars, nor any theft of money.
After the discovery phase, RLS Senior Associate Steven Alvarado filed a Kastigar motion, a legal motion that alleged that Lynn’s Peace Officer Rights were violated and that the case should be dismissed and/or evidence be suppressed. A superior court judge agreed, finding Lynn’s rights were violated and ordered considerable portions of the evidence suppressed.
Following an agreement between the DA’s office and Lynn to have the matter continued 90 days, while Lynn met some minor obligations, the case was dismissed today.
“I’m incredibly pleased for my client, Deputy Lynn, whose integrity, dedication, and nearly 20 years of service have long earned the respect of her colleagues and the community. I’m thankful to the honorable court for its careful and thorough review of our motion and its ruling. The District Attorney did the just thing today by dismissing these charges. On behalf of Deputy Lynn, I also want to thank ALADS for its steadfast support throughout this lengthy legal process,” said Alvarado.
Steven A. Alvarado: Senior Associate and trial attorney in the RLS Legal Defense Practice Group. He represents peace officers in criminal investigations and prosecutions, administrative investigations, disciplinary appeals, and also responds to critical incidents.Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver has assembled an elite group of trial attorneys, litigators, experts and investigators to defend peace officers in criminal and administrative cases.
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