Thread: Charges dismissed in retrial of man convicted of Chandra Levy murder

Charges dismissed in retrial of man convicted of Chandra Levy murder

Published July 28, 2016 FoxNews.com

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, DC on Thursday moved to dismiss charges against the man previously convicted of killing federal intern Chandra Levy in May 2001, citing what it called “unforeseen developments.”

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The U.S. Attorney's Office dropped charges against Ingmar Guandique on Thursday. (AP)


Ingmar Guandique was convicted of murdering Levy in 2010, but was in the process of a retrial. Guandique, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, is set to be released to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings.

The 2010 conviction of Guandique -- and the 60-year prison sentenced imposed on him at the time -- was vacated and a new trial was ordered in 2015 based on what Guandique's defense team said was new evidence.

"Today, in the interests of justice and based on recent unforeseen developments that were investigated over the past week, the Office moved to dismiss the case charging Ingmar Guandique with the May 2001 murder of Chandra Levy," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. "The Office has concluded that it can no longer prove the murder case against Mr. Guandique beyond a reasonable doubt."

Levy's 2001 disappearance created a national sensation after the Modesto, California, native, and intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, was romantically linked with then-Congressman Gary Condit.

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July 11, 2001: Then-Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., leaves his Washington apartment.


The remains of the 24 year old were found in Washington's Rock Creek Park in 2002. Prosecutors argued her death fit a pattern of attacks Guandique committed on female joggers.

Condit was a suspect in Levy's murder for a period of time, and Guandique's defense team reportedly planned to introduce evidence at the retrial implicating him in Levy's death.

Condit, a Democrat, left Congress in 2003 after losing his party's primary to an ex-aide.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016...vy-murder.html

7/23/08

Chandra Levy killed by illegal alien?

Gary Condit: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Published 5:08 pm EDT, July 28, 2016 Updated 5:55 pm EDT, July 28, 2016
By Jessica McBride

Gary Condit in 2001. Getty

Gary Condit is a former California Congressman who lost his seat after revelations that he may have had an extra-marital affair with former federal intern, Chandry Levy. He is back in the spotlight now that prosecutors have suddenly dropped murder charges against the illegal immigrant who was once convicted in the death of Levy, 24.

Levy’s skeletal remains were found in a Washington D.C. park in 2001 after she’d been missing for a year, sparking a media sensation; an illegal immigrant named Ingmar Guandique was convicted of Levy’s death. However, his conviction was overturned, and federal prosecutors announced on July 28, 2016 that they will not retry him in Levy’s death. The judge then dismissed the charges against Guandique, says USA Today.

The prosecutors’ specific reasons are murky. According to NBC News, they said that they were dropping murder charges against Guandique “based on recent unforeseen developments” that they did not elaborate upon, other than to say that they no longer believed they could prove the charges against Guandique beyond a reasonable doubt. The statement also indicated that the developments “were investigated over the past week,” said Fox News. Condit has denied murdering Levy.

Here’s what you need to know:

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1. Guandique’s Attorneys Were Preparing to Introduce Evidence Against Condit at Guandique’s Retrial in Levy’s Death & Pinpoint Him as The Main Suspect, Reports Say

Congressmen Gary Condit (D-CA) attends a hearing of the House Agriculture Committee on Capitol Hill July 17, 2001 in Washington, DC. (Getty)

According to Fox News, Condit, “a suspect in Levy’s murder for a period of time” was going to be prominently featured in the Guandique retrial because “Guandique’s defense team reportedly planned to introduce evidence at the retrial implicating him in Levy’s death.”

The Washington Post said Guandique’s attorneys told the judge in the case last November that they wanted “evidence from prosecutors about Condit, including his phone records, photographs and other information regarding his relationship with Levy.”

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D @Delo_Taylor

Charges dropped against El Salvadorian immigrant Ingmar Guandique sent to prison in Chandra Levy murder.#IntelGrouphttp://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Ingmar-Guandique-Will-Not-Be-Retried-in-Death-of-Chandra-Levy-Will-Be-Released-388568032.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_DCBrand …
2:16 PM - 28 Jul 2016



Guandique to Be Released; No New Trial in Chandra Levy Case

The man who was convicted and then later granted a new trial in the death of Washington intern Chandra Levy will be released and will not be retried, prosecutors said Thursday.
nbcwashington.com

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CNN said that Condit was questioned extensively by investigators after Levy’s murder. He was a Congressman in the California congressional district where Levy was from.

However, USA Today reports that Condit had been ruled out as a suspect in Levy’s death as investigators turned their focus to Guandique.

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2. Guandique’s Attorneys Planned to Argue That Condit Had a Penchant for Bondage & Rough Sex, Reports Say

Intern Chandra Levy. (Getty)

According to a May 2016 article in The Washington Post, Guandique’s attorneys wanted to depose two women described as “purported ex-lovers of former California congressman” Condit. The Post, citing court filings, said the women had told the FBI that Condit “had a penchant for bondage during sex” and one women described him as being “aggressive” during a sexual encounter.

The women’s accounts date to 2001, but Guandique’s lawyers wanted to use them to point at Condit as the “main suspect” in the intern’s death, said The Post. The Post said one of the two women told an FBI agent she was scared of Condit and that they had a sexual relationship for “about five years prior to Condit’s involvement with Levy.” The Post said that court filing show the woman claimed Condit liked to tie her up during sex by using an “iron bed with posts for bondage purposes.”

Levy’s mother told The New York Daily News that she wanted the bondage accusations pursued by the Guandique defense to learn the truth but added, “Talk about knots — I have a knot in my stomach and in my throat. Even if they do find the truth, I won’t ever have my daughter back.”

Jogging tights “tied in knots” were found in the park near Levy’s body, said The New York Daily News. According to ABC, “Defense attorneys claim Condit may have used the tights to restrain Levy during a rough sex act gone wrong.”

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3. Condit Lost His Seat in Congress After He Was ‘Romantically Linked’ to Levy

Saundra Duffy uses a megaphone July 17, 2001 outside Congressman Gary Condit”s office in Modesto, California were the FreeRepublic.com organization held a protest rally. The protest was in response to the then ongoing investigation of missing person Chandra Levy and Condit”s possible involvement in the case. (Getty)

According to CNN, it emerged that Condit was “romantically linked” to the young intern, who was interning at the federal Bureau of Prisons. He was defeated in a 2002 Democratic primary after the scandal broke and has returned to private life, said ABC. Protests erupted outside his Congressional office as the media fixated in 2001 on questions about his relationship with Levy, who was missing before her body was found in a park.

The Levy death ended Condit’s career, ABC News says. ABC says that Condit’s DNA was found in Levy’s home, “providing proof of the affair,” but authorities shifted their focus to Guandique because he had “been attacking female joggers in the park.”

In 2007, a judge ordered Condit, then back in private life, to pay $42,680 in attorney fees for “filing a frivolous libel lawsuit” against a small newspaper in California that had written on the Levy case. When covering that case, The Fresno Bee reported, “Condit does not deny multiple news accounts that he told law enforcement investigators that he was having an affair with the much-younger woman.

Condit’s reported concession came in his third police interview, about two months after Levy’s disappearance.”

The Frenso Bee says that Condit and his wife, Carolyn, moved to the Phoenix area after the scandal.

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4. Guandique’s Conviction Was Thrown Out After It Emerged That a Key Witness Had Lied During His Trial, Reports Say

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Chandra Levy murder: Charges dropped in retrial of Ingmar Guandique http://bbc.in/2azFpBO
1:47 PM - 28 Jul 2016

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According to NBC News, Guandique was convicted after a trial in 2010 of murdering the Modesto, California intern, Levy, and received 60 years in prison. However, he was granted a new trial in 2015 “after his lawyers said a key witness lied to the jury. Guandique has been in prison for attacks on other women,” said NBC.

CNN said a felon and gang member who was a star prosecution witness named Armando Morales had testified that Guandique confessed to killing Levy. It was his testimony that Guandique’s defense team challenged, said CNN.

After the charges were dropped altogether, with prosecutors now forgoing a retrial, Guandique’s lawyer, Lauren Hankins, told USA Today: “Mr. Guandique has maintained since the beginning, when he passed an FBI administered lie detector test, that he did not kill Ms. Levy. This dismissal vindicates Mr. Guandique. Finally, the government has had to concede the flaws in its ill-gotten conviction.”

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5. Gaundique Was an Illegal Immigrant From El Salvador Who Will Now Be Deported

Members of the media wait for a press conference after the skeletal remains of intern Chandra Levy were found in a Washington D.C. area park in 2002. (Getty)

Fox News says that the federal government will now start proceedings to remove Guandique from the country. At trial, said Fox News, prosecutors argued that Levy’s death “fit a pattern of attacks Guandique committed on female joggers.”
When he was arrested in 2009 in the Levy case, Guandique was already serving 10 years in prison for “attacking two other women in the park,” CNN says.

http://heavy.com/news/2016/07/gary-c...ect-immigrant/

Illegal immigrant convicted of murdering Chandra Levy in 2001 will be RELEASED and WON'T be retried as prosecutors drop the charges based on new leads in death of Congressman's mistress

Ingmar Guandique will not be retried and will be released from prison

He was convicted in 2010 of murdering Washington intern Chandra Levy

She was 24 and about to graduate college when she disappeared in 2001 while in Washington DC where she worked as an intern

Guandique was granted a retrial in the case last year, as his lawyers alleged a key witness, Gary Condit, lied on the stand during his first trial

Condit, a former Democratic Congressman, knew Levy but refused to answer questions about the nature of their relationship while under oath

Though at the time Condit admitted to police he had an affair with Levy

Guandique's attorney, Eugene Ohm, accused Condit of lying on the stand citing notes from police interview and how it conflicted with his testimony

Guandique's defense team reportedly planned to introduce evidence at the retrial implicating him in Levy's death

Prosecutors said they couldn't convict Guandique 'based on recent unforeseen developments that were investigated over the past week'

Read more: Illegal immigrant convicted of murdering Chandra Levy in 2001 will be RELEASED | Daily Mail Online

ICE still plans to deport illegal immigrant cleared of Chandra Levy murder

By Andrea Noble - The Washington Times - Friday, July 29, 2016

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say they fully intend to take custody of the man previously convicted of Chandra Levy’s murder for deportation proceedings, despite policies on the books in Washington, D.C., that limit the city jail’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

D.C. prosecutors announced Thursday that they were dropping charges and would not retry Ingmar Guandique, who was convicted in 2010 of the Washington intern’s 2001 murder. The illegal Salvadoran immigrant was granted a new trial after defense attorneys raised doubts about the testimony of a star witness in the case — jailhouse informant Armando Morales.

With the U.S. Attorney’s Office declining to go forward with a retrial of Guandique, he would otherwise be released from the D.C. Department of Corrections if he was not taken into custody by ICE.

The District is among more than 300 so-called sanctuary cities in the United States where officials have adopted policies that protect illegal immigrants by letting local authorities decline to share information about immigration status with federal agencies. But ICE officials say they currently have an immigration detainer against Guandique and are awaiting his transfer into federal custody.

“Based on yesterday’s court action, Ingmar Guandique will enter the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and be issued a notice to appear in immigration court,” said ICE spokeswoman Carissa Cutrell in a statement issued Friday. “Due to his previous criminal convictions, he is considered a threat to public safety, and ICE intends to maintain him in custody.”

Levy, 24, disappeared May 1, 2001, after leaving her apartment in jogging clothes. The Modesto, California, native’s remains were found in 2002 in a heavily wooded area of Rock Creek Park.

Guandique was charged in her death in 2009 just as he was close to completing a jail sentence for assaults on two joggers who had been attacked in Rock Creek Park. During the trial, prosecutors drew parallels to the two other women Guandique attacked at about the same time that Levy went missing.

D.C. Jail spokeswoman Sylvia Lane confirmed Friday afternoon that Guandique is still in the jail’s custody. It was not clear when he would be turned over to ICE officials.

Online records from the D.C. Superior Court indicate that a release order was filed for Guandique Friday afternoon.

Among the immigration procedures on the books at the D.C. Jail, Department of Corrections employees are instructed “not inquire about a person’s immigration status or contact the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of initiating civil enforcement of immigration proceedings that have no nexus to a criminal investigation.”

When immigration detainers have been filed for inmates who are not otherwise detained by a criminal justice agency, the Department of Corrections “shall not maintain custody of the inmate.” However the jail’s inmate records staff are instructed to notify ICE that an inmate is eligible for release in cases in which a detainer has been filed and the inmate’s sentence has expired or a court has ordered the inmate’s release.

In order to be deported back to El Salvador, Guandique will have to go through immigration court proceedings. ICE officials plan to hold him in custody while those proceedings take place.

It was not clear how long the removal proceedings would take.

ICE still plans to deport illegal immigrant cleared of Chandra Levy ...

Ingmar Guandique released into custody of immigration officials