SHELTER FROM THE CRIMINAL STORM

Slaying Of Witness Raises Shield Issues

They muster the courage to walk into a courtroom and willingly
testify against the most hard-core criminals: murderers, gangbangers,
drug dealers and other street terrorists.

Sometimes, they are threatened with acts of violence - by criminal
defendants themselves or their families and friends.

When this happens, county prosecutors can offer imperiled witnesses
protection through the state Witness Protection Program. They can
relocate witnesses and their families and put them up in new housing,
even out of state, if necessary.

In some rare instances, it can even be like the movies - a person's
whole identity is changed and they begin life anew.

There is a catch, however. Unlike the U.S. Justice Department's
Witness Protection Program, which provides long-term protection for
federal-court witnesses, the state program only offers protection to
a witness for the duration of their testimony.

In most cases, witnesses' monthly rent and food allowances are
covered for an additional 90 days after their testimony.

After that, they're essentially on their own.

"It's not a carte blanche that we will carry them for every issue of
their life," said Vic Hamilton, a supervising investigator for the
San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.

Hamilton, who oversees the DA's Witness Protection Program, said the
aim is to give witnesses a reasonable amount of time to get back on
their feet, become self-sustaining and move on.

"It's not welfare. It's a bridge to starting over and escaping the
threat," Hamilton said.

The slaying of 18-year-old Melquiades Jose Rojas, who testified
against two gang members at their murder trial in February in San
Bernardino Superior Court, has raised questions about the strength of
the state Witness Protection Program.

The self-admitted San Bernardino gang member and his family were
offered protection by the District Attorney's Office.

Statewide, district attorney's offices are the local law-enforcement
agencies that administer the Witness Protection Program.

Rojas' slaying, authorities say, was an anomaly. Hamilton said that
in his experience in the county, he can't recall any murder witnesses
slain before, during or after their testimony.

"I've been a cop for over 27 years in this county, and I cannot
recall one," said Hamilton, a former sheriff's deputy. "If someone
was killed in retaliation for their testimony, I'm not aware of it.
It's definitely a newsworthy event."

The slaying has prompted the county's top prosecutors to discuss
possible changes to their Witness Protection Program.

"It is critical to us, because the cooperation of our witnesses is
essential to our ability to take violent criminals off the street,"
said Jim Hackleman, an assistant district attorney. "We take this
very seriously."

He said the district attorney's executive and management staff will
meet with District Attorney Michael A. Ramos next week to discuss
establishing a more formal review of procedures and protocols for the
Witness Protection Program.

"The DA's focus is going to be, 'Is there anything we can do better
to protect our witnesses?"' Hackleman said.

While the Rojas family and district attorney's officials are at odds
in their accounts of the level of protection the family received, one
thing is certain: Rojas' bullet-riddled body was found dumped in a
gully in Beaumont the morning of April 4. Police believe the killing
was in retaliation for Rojas' testifying against San Bernardino gang
members James Fuentes and Melicio Reyes, who were convicted of murder
and are scheduled for sentencing Monday.

Rojas' mother, Denise Rojas, said that although she signed a
witness-advisement form and agreed to participate in the Witness
Protection Program after she and her son were threatened by gang
members, specifics as to how the program worked were not made clear
to her. She said she was told to find a new home on her own, and
within county limits.

District attorney's officials determined that staff members "acted
appropriately and professionally" in the Rojas matter, Hackleman said.

Denise Rojas, as of Thursday, was still living in San Bernardino.

Fuentes and Reyes were convicted in the June 24, 2003, fatal shooting
of Francisco Ferreira, who lives across the street from the Rojas family.

"Right now I'm fearing for my life," said Denise Rojas, 43. "They
(prosecutors) said there was a program, but they never told me 'you
got a month, a week' - I didn't know how much time I had."

Hamilton said the Rojas family was given enough money to cover the
first and last month's rent to move into an apartment elsewhere, and
was given the direction to do so. But the Rojas family never followed
up and went back home.

Under California's program, protected witnesses and their families
are eligible for up to $1,000 a month for rent and are given monthly
food allowances and money for incidentals. The program can also
provide money for travel to and from court, moving and other
necessary expenses. District attorney's offices throughout California
reimburse the state for the cost of the program.

Sometimes, the $1,000 monthly allocation for rent can be increased,
depending on where a witness chooses to live, within reason.

"That can be changed if it's a higher-cost Advertisementcounty, like
San Francisco, Monterey, or Santa Cruz - the cost of living is just
higher there," said Judy Cornick, program analyst for the California
Witness Protection Program, who oversees the program's $3 million
annual budget.

Historically, county prosecutors have lobbied for more money.

"It's not adequate," Hackleman said. "Unfortunately, this is a money
issue and depends on state funds. We have lobbied in the past for
witness-protection funds, and certainly, this issue (the Rojas
slaying) is going to be a part of our argument that those funds need
to be further enhanced."

Bad credit and criminal records - factors that could thwart a move
into a new apartment or house - are not an issue in the Witness
Protection Program, Hamilton said.

"We work with those landlords," Hamilton said. "That has
traditionally not been a significant obstacle."

He declined to elaborate more on how prosecutors work with landlords,
saying it would be a security risk to disclose too much information.

Witnesses with bad credit also can be placed in temporary lodging,
like weekly motels that have kitchenettes. They can stay indefinitely
throughout the duration of a trial and until they find a new
residence, Cornick said.

Under a temporary lodging agreement, witnesses receive a daily
lodging allowance of $89 and a daily food allowance of $30.
Additional allowances are provided for family and children if applicable.

Witnesses who are permanently relocated receive a maximum of $300 a
month for food, $200 for utilities and $100 for incidentals.
Additional funds are allocated for children and family members.

From July 1, 2004, to June 30 the California Witness Protection
Program approved funding for 388 new cases for witnesses testifying
in criminal proceedings. The program also approved and reimbursed
claims of $2.3 million, according to its 2006 annual report to the Legislature.

Last year, the program approved $1.5 million in reimbursement claims.
Since the program started in 1998, the state Department of Justice
has allocated about $12.3 million to counties throughout the state.

The 388 cases approved last year provided protection for 444
witnesses, plus 681 family members, who testified against 700
criminal defendants. Of the 388 new cases, 76 percent (295) were
gang-related, 19 percent (75) were for other types of high-risk
crimes, 4 percent (14) involved domestic violence, and 1 percent (4)
involved narcotics trafficking.

Witness protection has become a national issue with Sen. Charles
Schumer, D-N.Y., who is proposing the Witness Security and Protection
Act of 2006. It would establish in the U.S. Marshals Service a
short-term state witness-protection program that would combat gang
violence and intimidation and domestic violence. It also would
provide federal grants for such protection.

The bill, introduced Feb. 6, is being considered by the Senate
Judiciary Committee.

While the Rojas family claims it was left out in the cold and that
Melquiades Rojas lived out the last months of his life in paranoia
and desperation, county prosecutors say the family had an opportunity
to leave and didn't.

Cornick, the program analyst for the state Witness Protection
Program, said she can recall no case in the past of a protected
witness being killed during the course of the criminal case in which
they were testifying.

She did remember one man, a former witness who had been relocated but
was no longer in the program, who was killed after he returned to his
old neighborhood and was recognized.

Many witnesses don't like the idea of uprooting their lives and
leaving the neighborhoods they have called home for so long. Some opt
not to leave or eventually wind up returning to visit.

And that can be deadly.

"Human beings are creatures of habit. They're sentimental," said
Hamilton, the supervising investigator for the District Attorney's
Office. "They go back to visit family members, old girlfriends and
friends - that's the choice those witnesses make. They come back to
the neighborhoods from which they fled, and they're spotted almost immediately."