December 19, 2004

DA defends plea agreement

CALIFORNIA
The Daily Journal

District Attorney Norm Vroman said Friday that people in law enforcement or the legal community who think favors were given to Daniel Aram Garcia or that Garcia was allowed to plead to something that results in a lesser punishment because he worked for the courts are incorrect.

"That couldn't be further from the truth," he said. "Those people have no knowledge of the facts of the case. When people shoot their mouths off, it's usually out of ignorance."

Garcia pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of lewd and lascivious conduct with a 14- or 15-year-old, which comes with a possible jail term of 18 months, two years or three years.

Vroman dropped charges of oral copulation with a child under 16 and sexual penetration with a foreign object of a child under 16. He did not file a charge of continuous sexual abuse although police thought they had made a case for it.

Posted by kshaw at December 19, 2004 08:14 AM