DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman paused a double homicide case after prosecutors revealed new evidence from the grand jury minutes before parties were slated to pick a jury on Nov. 17.
Oscar Diaz-Romero, 47, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Jose Noel Coreas-Carcaro, 22, and Jose Molina, 27, on the 2400 block of 18th Street, NW, on Aug. 9, 1997.
In what was supposed to be the beginning of the trial, prosecutors informed the court that new issues had arisen regarding discovery, initially characterizing the matter as a Jencks issue, which requires the prosecution to provide the defense with statements made by witnesses after they’ve testified.
The prosecution explained that although they provided nearly all the discovery to the defense in January, they were unaware of any grand jury testimony. During their final stages of investigation, they learned that one eyewitness recalled testifying before a grand jury. After questioning additional witnesses, they discovered a second witness who also remembered testifying, yet neither the prosecution nor the defense team had previously known a grand jury had been summoned. They received this information only about 15 minutes before the hearing.
The judge expressed concern and noted he had never encountered a situation like this. He questioned the prosecution about when they first learned of a grand jury and why they had not reviewed its materials, especially since the prosecutors had control of the grand jury proceedings from the start.
The prosecution stated they became aware on Nov. 7. The judge further asked how the prosecution could be certain that the existing cassette tapes, recorded 30 years ago, contained the full grand jury record if no one had listened to them.
The defense, Destiny Fullwood-Singh and Julie Swaney, emphasized that they had never been told a grand jury transcript existed. After prosecutors notified them of the tapes, the defense uncovered a memo from a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer referencing an arrest warrant and confirming a grand jury had been empaneled.
At least two witnesses now recall testifying, supporting the argument that Jencks material exists, though no one knows whether additional witnesses testified.
The judge expressed uncertainty about how to proceed, noting the defendant had been extradited from El Salvador and had not committed a crime in more than 30 years. He ordered the prosecution to listen to and transcribe all grand jury tapes and identify the former prosecutor who handled the case in 1997 and locate his notes.
The prosecution reported contacting the former prosecutor of the 1997 case, who attempted to locate records but found they had been destroyed. Court Report Services likewise had no transcripts, but an off-site facility in Philadelphia held a physical box from which the current prosecutors recovered two cassette tapes and one eyewitness statement dated Aug. 21, 1997.
To keep the case on track, the judge asked the prosecutors whether they could have an update by the afternoon or if they would need more time and reconvene on another day.
The defense requested an order requiring the prosecution to produce various Fairfax County source documents and raised concerns about a witness with violations or complaints, arguing that this constitutes Brady material, which is any evidence that could be exculpatory to the defense. The judge agreed with the defense and ordered disclosure.
After reconvening in the afternoon, the defense moved to dismiss the case. The court held the motion in abeyance and continued the matter until Thursday to allow the prosecution time to figure out how to proceed.
Parties slated to reconvene on Nov. 20
