Opinion ID: 1390030
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: CIM Correctional Officer Donnie Eddings

Text: Petitioner alleges the prosecution withheld material exculpatory evidence provided by a former inmate at CIM that a Hispanic gang called A-Troop committed the Ryen/Hughes murders. (Pet. at 45.) In order to address this allegation, the Court held an evidentiary hearing on August 6, 2004, where former CIM Correctional Officer Donnie Eddings testified. (8/6/04 HRT 3.) Officer Eddings was a correctional counselor in the Reception Center who conducted intake interviews to determine what level of custody was appropriate for an inmate. She was unaware of the outstanding warrant in the CIM files for Petitioner's rape, aggravated assault, kidnaping, mayhem, and making a terrorist threat arising out of Petitioner's rape and threat to kill victim Lori S. in Pennsylvania. (8/6/04 HRT 4.) The warrant for the rape charges was in the CIM files with the name, David Trautman aka Kevin Cooper, clearly listed, but CIM egregiously erred by not linking its own records of Petitioner's rape to the false name of David Trautman. ( See NOL filed 4/15/05 CIM Vault, Notebook 9 at 2385-2417.) The Court concludes that Officer Eddings had a substantial motive to deflect guilt from Petitioner due to CIM's institutional error in placing a known rapist in minimum security. Officer Eddings testified that in 1983, inmate Luparello told her that Doug Ryens's chiropractic office in Santa Ana had been burglarized by a gang called A-Troop. (8/6/04 HRT 8-9.) Officer Eddings was told by this inmate that he thought that Mr. Ryen either pressed charges or testified against the members of the gang following the burglary. (8/6/04 HRT 8-9.) Officer Eddings prepared a written report and submitted it to her supervisor. (8/6/04 HRT 7.) The prosecution provided defense trial counsel with a memorandum written by Officer Eddings detailing the information from inmate Luparello, as well as handwritten notes regarding Luparello. ( See 04-CV-656, NOL filed 7/27/04.) Moreover, the Santa Ana Police Department reports regarding the burglary of the Ryen chiropractic office and other businesses in the same commercial complex were also provided to defense trial counsel by the prosecution. ( See 04-CV-656, NOL filed 07/27/04.) The burglary of the Ryen chiropractic office was being reported in newspaper articles discussing the Ryen/Hughes murders. A copy of a Los Angeles Times article dated June 7, 1983, which includes information on the burglary, was included in the defense trial file turned over on discovery in 1997 in connection with Petitioner's first federal habeas petition. ( See Answer, Ex. 56 (copy LA Times article re burglary, from defense trial file).) Given the discovery provided by the prosecution, there was no Brady violation. [46] Additionally, defense investigator Ingels testified that in 2002 he checked out the information regarding Eddings' allegation and found no merit to the claim. (8/13/04 HRT 141-143.) Therefore, the Court concludes there was no Brady violation regarding the Luparello or A-Troop information.