JUDGE FREES PRISONER, OVERTURNS CONVICTIONS

A man who spent 1 1/2 years in prison for selling cocaine was set free on
Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction because it was tainted by
police misconduct.

Joseph Jones' 1998 guilty plea was among four convictions the Los Angeles
County district attorney's office asked to be reversed Wednesday because
police provided false evidence or testimony. Charges against a fifth man
were dropped.

The reversals are the latest fallout from a widening corruption probe of
the Police Department.