From CBSLA
SANTA ANA — A former Orange County sheriff’s deputy was cleared of two remaining charges against him after being accused of helping a convicted murderer’s wife have sex with her husband behind bars and smuggle contraband to the inmate.
David Lloyd Cass (Orange County sheriff’s)
David Lloyd Cass was acquitted in July of a bribery charge, but the jury in that case deadlocked on an additional bribery count and an accessory charge.
Despite prosecutors’ efforts to retry Cass on those remaining charges, Orange County Superior Court Judge Patrick Donahue dismissed those counts today, citing insufficient evidence.
Cass said he was “extremely relieved” at the decision. He also praised his attorney, Lew Rosenblum, saying he did a “phenomenal job.”
The jury deliberated for about two days in July before deadlocking 7-5 in favor of acquittal on a bribery count involving tickets to a Los Angeles Kings hockey game and a gift card, and 8-4 for acquittal on the charge of being an accessory after the fact.
Prosecutors say Cass gave co-defendant Ha Nguyen, who testified against him, a heads-up when authorities found drugs, a cell phone and other contraband in the cell of her husband, Stephenson Choi Kim, who is serving a life prison term without the possibility of parole.
Jurors cleared Cass of a bribery count involving allegations of seeking introductions to women and being given VIP treatment at coffee houses where waitresses are scantily clad. Rosenblum said after the trial that his client’s “acceptance of a gift may be a violation of policy, but it’s not a crime.”
Nguyen pleaded guilty to trying to help Kim escape from custody and also admitted to selling drugs to another inmate and bribing a law enforcement official. Rosenblum said Nguyen lied under oath to win a plea deal from prosecutors.
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