JUDGE DENIES 8 CORCORAN GUARDS' EVIDENCE MOTION

Lawyers for eight Corcoran State Prison guards accused of staging inmate
fights for sport continued to complain Monday that the government is
withholding crucial evidence from them.

U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii denied defense motions to force
federal prosecutors to turn over investigative reports and the names of
government witnesses.

The judge, however, left the door open for defense lawyers to refile the
motions later.

Outside the federal courthouse, lawyers E. Marshall Hodgkins and Wayne
Ordos said they believed they had made a point.

Although Ishii denied their motions, Ordos said Monday's hearing still "was
a significant advance for the defense. Judge Ishii recognizes the
complexity of this case and he will not permit the U.S. attorney to
stonewall us until trial."

Hodgkins said, "The government has turned over 250,000 pages of business
record documents and most of it involves stuff five years before the
incidents occurred."

Defense lawyers said nothing in the huge volume of paperwork provided so
far points to any criminal wrongdoing by the eight officers.

Ishii set Nov. 30 for a hearing on further motions in the case. Any trial
date would be next year at the earliest. A special legislative hearing on
the troubles at the Kings County prison is scheduled to conclude with
additional testimony today in Sacramento.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan B. Conklin said in court papers that the
government is not providing witness statements yet because of continuing
concerns about "witness intimidation and retaliation."

Ordos argued in his motion that key witnesses in the case, whistleblowers
who told authorities about abusive treatment of inmates, have made public
statements to the media and elsewhere. He said that is not the practice of
someone who feels threatened.

He said defense investigators have spoken to some potential witnesses, who
have indicated that Corcoran guards were following policy set by
administrators when they placed potentially dangerous inmates together.

The eight officers were indicted in February after an FBI investigation of
nearly four years. Four of those accused are charged in connection with the
shooting death of Corcoran inmate Preston Tate.

Tate was shot to death April 2, 1994, in a prison exercise yard. He was
first convicted of gang rape and was in Corcoran for a parole violation at
the time.

Charged in connection with Tate's death are Lt. Douglas Martin, 54, of
Corcoran; Sgt. John Vaughn, 42, of Hanford; officer Jerry Arvizu, 30, of
Hanford; and officer Christopher Bethea, 33, of Clovis, who fired the fatal
shot.

They are accused of conspiring to violate civil rights and falsifying
reports to cover the truth behind Tate's death. They face potential life
sentences if convicted.

Four others charged in connection with an inmate fight Feb. 23, 1994, are
Sgt. Truman Jennings, 37, of Visalia; and officers Michael Gipson, 43, of
Caruthers; Timothy Dickerson, 38, of Visalia; and Raul Tavarez, 38, of Tipton.

The potential maximum sentence for each is 10 years because no death
resulted. Tavarez also is charged with perjury, which carries a potential
five-year prison sentence.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan