DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman is considering a fair way to proceed with a homicide case while near decade old grand jury transcripts are reviewed on Nov. 20.
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.
The prosecution discovered 19 boxes of files including 1997 grand jury testimony in the case. The prosecution explained that copies in their office had been destroyed, and rediscovered elsewhere but the company had originally claimed they did not have the files. He told Judge Edelman that he is in the process of trying to get any other computer files from the original prosecutor.
There were 13 witnesses in the grand jury, which ended Sept. 10, 1997. The prosecution originally planned to call two of those witnesses during the trial. However, these transcripts contain possible Brady violations requiring disclosure of potentially exculpatory information that needed to be disclosed to the defense team ahead of trial.
A witness the prosecution was not intending to call provided a description of the shooter that contradicts the description provided by other witnesses and does not match the defendant.
Another witness directly contradicted the testimony of a key prosecution witness, a driver who claimed that the prosecution’s witness was also wearing a sports jersey that the shooter is described to be wearing by other witnesses.
The defense team, Julie Swaney and Destiny Fullwood-Singh, told the judge they do not know enough about these witnesses. Swaney asked that the prosecution help the defense investigation by providing any and all contact information for them. She also believed there is no fair solution to this case other than dismissal due to the “egregious” misconduct of the prosecution.
Judge Edelman said that “the case was not ready for trial on the trial date” and believes the case would have been a “potential disaster” had they proceeded. However, he was unsure about a remedy. The judge said that dismissal would only be appropriate if it is impossible to give Diaz-Romero a fair trial or sanction the prosecution for misconduct.
Swaney argued that the late disclosure cost them ten months to look into these witnesses, who may be able to aid the defense’s case.
The defense team will file a supplement to their Brady motion by Dec. 1 to provide more details about the alleged violations they have found within the transcripts. After this submission and the prosecution’s response, a motion to dismiss may be appropriate.
Judge Edelman asked the parties to remain in touch with him to avoid future surprises.
Parties are slated to return Dec. 18.
