http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01482.html

Prosecutors Drop Case In 2 Throat Slashings

By Ruben Castaneda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 14, 2006; B09


Prince George's County prosecutors yesterday abruptly dropped first-degree murder charges against a man accused of slashing the throats of two men in Langley Park last summer, a grisly attack that unnerved many people in that community.

On the third day of Edgar A. "L.A" Reyes's trial, Assistant State's Attorney Clayton Aarons told the judge that prosecutors had just read documents from the police investigation that contained evidence so contrary to testimony their key witness gave that they were forced to drop all charges in the interests of justice.

Circuit Court Judge Sheila Tillerson-Adams turned to Reyes, 31, who had joined his defense attorney and prosecutors for a conference at the bench. She apologized to Reyes for the time he had spent in jail since his arrest in December.

Tillerson-Adams also said she was "absolutely outraged" that the state would prosecute someone when it had information that directly contradicted its theory of his guilt. The comments, which were not fully audible to the entire courtroom, were related by defense attorney Thomas C. Mooney.

Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey (D), confirmed that charges against Reyes were dropped because the state's star witness, Oscar "Flaco" Molina, 23, gave testimony that was "inconsistent with what he had told police and prosecutors in previous meetings and statements before the trial." With no other evidence, the state was no longer confident of Reyes's guilt, Korionoff said.

The dramatic turn of events came an hour after the judge had halted the trial and directed prosecutors to hand over evidence the defense attorney had not received. Under Maryland law, prosecutors are required to give the defense exculpatory evidence.

When the attorneys and Reyes returned to the courtroom, the prosecutor asked for a bench conference and announced his office's decision.

During the previous hour, Mooney and a private defense investigator pored over about 250 pages of police reports and cellphone records, frantically trying to determine which documents the defense was entitled to and which papers might prove their client's innocence.

Mooney made two motions, one before the trial started and one during the proceedings, asking the judge to dismiss charges against Reyes because the state had not handed over the evidence.

Tillerson-Adams turned away the first motion and had yet to rule on the second when the charges were dropped.

One juror said he believed Reyes was on his way to an acquittal.

"I think the defense tore the prosecution apart. The main witness was not credible at all -- his story changed so many times. I thought it was very sloppy work by the prosecution," said the man, a 48-year-old mechanic who declined to give his name.

The bodies of Cesar "Chapin" Mayorga, 27, and Anival Hernandez Escobar Cruz, 28, were found about 6:30 a.m. Aug. 10 in the 8000 block of New Hampshire Avenue, near a Toys "R" Us store. Both had suffered deep cuts to their throats. A third man was stabbed but survived.

The state's key -- and only -- witness, Molina, testified that he saw Reyes accept a knife from a neighborhood drug dealer and then slash the two victims. Molina testified that he had turned down the drug dealer's offer of killing the two men in exchange for $100 worth of crack but that Reyes accepted the deal.

Under cross-examination from Mooney, Molina admitted that he smoked crack before allegedly witnessing the attack. Molina also disputed a written statement he had given police in which he said he saw two attackers. Molina said nothing about seeing a third victim.

Under direct examination by Aarons, Molina testified that the drug dealer called him on his cellphone the night of the killings. But cellphone records showed Molina received no such call, Mooney said.

"The investigation done by the police was incomplete and incompetent," said Sharon Weidenfeld, an investigator working for the defense. "The fact the state's attorney's office followed through by prosecuting Reyes is a disgrace."

Although Reyes no longer faces murder charges, federal immigration authorities have placed a hold on him, alleging that he is in the country illegally. Reyes is from El Salvador.