RAMPART VICTIM OVANDO IN COURT ON DRUG CHARGES

Trial: Awarded $15 million in LAPD scandal, he is accused of cocaine
trafficking along with five others who were arrested during gambling trip
to Nevada.

LAS VEGAS--Wearing a Dodgers baseball cap and sitting in his wheelchair,
brain-injured Javier Ovando, the most high-profile victim of the Rampart
police scandal, found himself back in a courtroom Thursday in a case that
had nothing to do with the LAPD.

In 1996, Ovando was shot and paralyzed by Los Angeles police officers
Rafael Perez and Nino Durden after he allegedly attacked them. Ovando was
convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

It turned out the officers were the ones doing the attacking, and they
planted a gun on the 19-year-old gang member. Ovando was released after
serving 2 1/2 years in prison, his conviction was overturned, and the city
of Los Angeles gave him $15 million--the largest settlement ever in
connection with LAPD misconduct.

On Thursday, Ovando, now 23, sat quietly in court, accused of being a
cocaine trafficker. If convicted, he faces a maximum term of life in prison
with the possibility of parole after 10 years.

Ovando and five others were indicted by a Clark County grand jury March 30
after the six were stopped in Ovando's 1999 Cadillac sport utility vehicle
while they were headed to Las Vegas for a gambling getaway.

A California Highway Patrol officer, trailing the SUV across the desert and
into Nevada, pulled the vehicle over for traveling 105 mph.

Nevada law enforcement officers arrived at the scene and found 50 grams of
cocaine in various plastic bags, 37 grams of marijuana and a black duffel
bag containing $71,888 in cash, said Clark County Deputy Dist. Atty. Melisa
De La Garza.

She said that, in Nevada, possession of 28 grams or more of cocaine is
considered a "large-level trafficking offense" and characterized the
charges against Ovando as "very serious."

The amount of cash found in the vehicle was not factored into the
trafficking charges, she said, "because we knew of his Rampart settlement."

Because the cocaine and marijuana allegedly were found in the vehicle but
not on any one person, all six occupants were being similarly charged on
all four counts, she said.

On Thursday, Ovando refused to enter a plea in a downtown Las Vegas
courtroom. Clark County District Judge Mark Gibbons entered a plea of not
guilty on Ovando's behalf.

Besides cocaine trafficking, Ovando and his five co-defendants also each
face charges of conspiracy to possess cocaine and/or marijuana, possession
of marijuana and transporting cocaine.

Ovando's attorney, Arnoldo Casillas of Montebello, said his client did not
enter a plea Thursday because "the charges are horribly vague. He is
entitled to a specific description of the charges."

Casillas said Ovando "is real shaken" by his most recent arrest "but
confident this all will be resolved favorably. He looks forward to putting
this episode behind him."

Casillas said there was "no basis for the drug-trafficking charges" but
declined to say more.

Four other defendants pleaded not guilty Thursday. They are Richard Reyes,
Samuel Alfaro, Manuel Lopez and Antonio Walter, all 26 and from Los
Angeles. A sixth defendant, Crystal Rios, did not appear in court Thursday
and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

The judge set an Aug. 27 trial date.

The Rampart Division police scandal unfolded when Perez, a former anti-gang
officer, was accused of stealing six pounds of cocaine from LAPD evidence
facilities. In exchange for a lighter sentence, Perez agreed to name other
allegedly corrupt officers. He told investigators that rogue officers from
the Rampart Division routinely framed and beat suspects and covered up
unjustified shootings.

Since his disclosures, some 100 criminal convictions have been overturned
and eight LAPD officers have been charged with corruption-related crimes.
The investigation is ongoing.