For eight years, an Oceanside police officer kept a stash of taped interviews with witnesses and criminal suspects, but he did not log them into evidence -- as is required -- and the fallout may be considerable, according to a published report.
Every suspect who Officer Damon Smith interviewed on the tapes since he was hired in 2001 may see their criminal cases reviewed, reported the North County Times. If the tapes reveal significant new evidence, the suspect might get a new trial.
It is not illegal to record interviews with suspects or witnesses. The trouble is that all such recordings are evidence in criminal matters and thus must be turned over to prosecutors, who then are required to share them with defense attorneys.
"These are highly significant tapes to be left out of the criminal justice process ---- and eight years is mind-boggling," said San Diego County Public Defender Steve Carroll.
Now lawyers on both sides of the aisle are scrambling to determine which cases Smith taped the interviews during and whether that information was turned over to defense attorneys.
Fallout from the case already includes the sentencing of cop killer Meki Gaono, who was found guilty in April of killing Oceanside police officer Dan Bessant. Gaono's sentencing has been postponed from this week until the first week of June.
