Judge Dismisses Double Life Sentence Case
INDIO – The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office wants to prosecute a man already in prison for a life sentence. The case has become so controversial, a judge threw it out of court.
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42 year old Dino Allen Moreno was in a 2004 shootout with bounty hunters on the Soboba Indian Reservation. He was caught, found guilty, and sentenced to 109 years to life in prison.
So why was Indio courtroom 3M scheduled to be used Tuesday to try Moreno on a 2003 case of evading police? Court appointed defense attorney Brenda Miller was surprised Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco wanted to prosecute when Moreno was already in prison for life.
“It seemed absurd to me and such a waste,” says Miller.
Taxpayers in cash-strapped Riverside County would need to pay for attorneys, a judge, bailiffs, prison travel costs, court appointed investigators costing, “between $8,000 to $10,000 a day. The case would have been between 3 and 4 days,” according to Miller.
Moreno is a self described founding member of the “Indio Penn West” street gang. The DA’s Office responds saying “just because he has been convicted of a separate crime, doesn’t mean we should forgive him for his evasion that placed our entire community at risk.”
The DA’s Office was pressing for this latest trial to be a “three strikes” case. If convicted, Moreno would face a double life sentence.
Miller responds, “The District attorney is going to say, his appeal is not final in the 109 years to life case. The reason that’s such an absurd argument is that they have offered a misdemeanor in this case and time served. The maximum for a misdemeanor would be one year. Three strikes doesn’t even come into play in a misdemeanor. I don’t know what they wanted. Then when my client refused the misdemeanor, then they said ‘all deals are off. We don’t care. We’re going to pursue this case.'”
Is this entire case prosecution overkill and a waste of taxpayer dollars? Court records show Judge Bert Swift threw out the Moreno case “in the interest of justice.” The DA’s office is considering appealing that decision and pressing for another trial. Until then, Dino Moreno will be waiting, serving year number 2 of his 109 year prison sentence.
KESQ.com web extra:
The following are the emails between KESQ and the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
Our questions to spokesman Michael Jeandron began:
Is the DA’s office appealing judge Swift’s recent decision to dismiss this case “in the interest of justice?” If so, then on what grounds? Is it because it is a third strike case? And if that’s the stance, what do the people stand to gain by upping Moreno’s sentence from 109 years to 114 years? How much money does it cost on average per day for a jury trial?
The District Attorney’s Office response was:
Mr. Baca,
We have not determined if an appeal of this decision is warranted at this time.
Our office made the decision to seek this defendant’s third strike after a careful review of all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the defendant’s career as a criminal and gang member.
This defendant is a self-proclaimed founding member of the Indio Penn West criminal street gang and has displayed the most dangerous and violent of behavior. His freedom represents an ongoing threat to anyone in our community who would cross his path.
Additionally, we felt that this defendant must be held accountable for his reckless and dangerous behavior during this high-speed police chase. His attempt to avoid consequences placed the pursuing police officers, surrounding innocent drivers and surrounding innocent pedestrians at significant risk.
Just because he has been convicted of a separate crime, doesn’t mean we should forgive him for his evasion that placed our entire community at risk and could have resulted in deadly collateral damage.
With a three-strike conviction this career criminal and gang member would remain in prison behind a double-locked door for the remainder of his days regardless of the outcome of his pending appeal for his attempted murder conviction.
Also, I should make you aware that your question, which presupposes that the sentence for this defendant would be increased from 109 years to 114 years upon a three strikes conviction, is based on a false premise. With a third strike conviction, he would be facing a life sentence, not an additional 5 years to run concurrent on his attempted murder conviction as you have mistakenly concluded. As such, even if his attempted murder conviction was overturned, he would still remain in prison on the three strikes conviction.
Regarding the cost of a single day of jury trial, please contact the court for that information.
Tuesday afternoon we sent these follow-up questions:
If the District Attorney’s Office wanted to make Dino Moreno’s case a “three strikes” case, then why did your office offer to bump the evading charge down to a misdemeanor before trial?
When Dino Moreno refused the first deal offer, it was then brought up to a felony three strikes case.
If it would have prosecuted as a misdemeanor, he would have faced a maximum one year additional sentence to add to the 109 years he’s already serving.
We are awaiting an answer from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
