JUDGE RELUCTANTLY REFUSES TO RELEASE KEY FIGURE IN LA POLICE SCANDAL

LOS ANGELES (AP) A judge reluctantly refused to release disgraced former
police officer Rafael Perez from custody Thursday after authorities said he
had not met the requirements of serving sufficient time in state prison
under a plea agreement.

Superior Court Judge Robert Perry said he felt the position taken by the
Los Angeles County district attorney's office and Sheriff's Department was
unfair to Perez, who counted on being released early for cooperating as an
informant in a police scandal.

"I'm troubled that the person getting hurt here is the one who bargained
for something he's not getting," the judge said. "... I really think this
is so unfair."

Perez was given a five-year sentence for stealing $1 million worth of
cocaine from an evidence room, a charge to which he pleaded guilty in
exchange for leniency.

He ignited a scandal when he alleged wrongdoing including assaults and
frame-ups by the anti-gang unit in which he worked in the city's tough
Rampart area.

He was granted more than two years of credit for time served before his
sentencing in February 2000 but was to have accrued credits every day that
he served behind bars.

The problem that confronted the judge stemmed from the fact that Perez was
never sent to state prison and instead was kept in the county jail. At
first he was kept there because prosecutors said they needed to continue
debriefing him. Later, his attorney argued Perez would be in danger if he
was taken to state prison.

But when it came time to consider his release, authorities from the
district attorney's office, the Sheriff's Department and the state
Department of Corrections said he had not earned adequate credits for
release because he never entered the state system.

Perez's lawyer, Winston Kevin McKesson, asked the judge to release him
immediately. Perry said that would be counterproductive because appeals
would certainly follow and Perez might spend more time behind bars as a result.

McKesson, who argued to the last moment of the hearing for release, said,
"There's nobody in the penal system that has done more for the justice
system than Mr. Perez. He is being held in violation of his constitutional
rights."

Perry was highly critical of the district attorney's office and others
involved in the case.

"Aren't you concerned that we're sending a message that if you are a dirty
police officer and you cooperate ... that they'll stab you in the back and
hold on to you as long as possible?" the judge said.

He pointed out that 90 criminal defendants or convicts had been released
from custody as a result of Perez's allegations of police wrongdoing.

"Isn't there a greater good here because of his cooperation?" the judge asked.

Perez, wearing a blue county jail uniform, sat silently throughout the hearing.

The judge ultimately ordered that he be turned over to state prison
officials immediately so that he could begin earning "good time-work time"
credits one day off a sentence for each day served while doing prison work
without disciplinary problems.

He also ordered all parties back to court on July 23 and said the sheriff
must show cause at that time why Perez should not be released.

"The record in this case is replete with errors and misjudgments," the
judge said. "... It's unfortunate in a case that has attracted so much
publicity that the justice system looks so inept."

Outside court, Deputy County Counsel Kevin Brazil said state corrections
officials calculate that Perez will be eligible for release on Dec. 26.