Author: Helen

Los Angeles Police Destroyed Evidence Before a Trial

Los Angeles Police Destroyed Evidence Before a Trial

Man gets 5 months in prison for transporting fireworks that LAPD detonated in botched disposal

James Alan Runk was not charged with arson because police destroyed the evidence before his trial.

The Los Angeles police department detonated a bomb made of fireworks inside a vehicle in September, 2015 and then lied about it to the Los Angeles District Attorney and federal prosecutors.

James Alan Runk, who was facing up to five years in prison for possession of large quantities of fireworks, now has to sit in jail for five months because police destroyed the evidence before his trial.

James Alan Runk was not charged with arson because police destroyed the evidence before his trial.

The Los Angeles police department detonated a bomb made of fireworks inside a vehicle in September, 2015 and then lied about it to the Los Angeles District Attorney and federal prosecutors.

The fireworks were hidden on a vehicle driven by the 23-year-old Runk and caught fire when a bomb disposal team detonated it, authorities said. LAPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) never reported that the fireworks were on his car, a law enforcement source told The Daily Beast.

Instead, Runk spent five months in jail until he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in October. Runk received a year’s probation and was ordered to serve three months of his sentence in jail, a jail spokesperson said.

Runk pleaded guilty to possessing fireworks that a bomb disposal team discovered and ignited without detonating them first, and a judge sentenced him to five months in jail.

The fireworks were in a car driven by Runk and caught fire after they were concealed inside a fake propane tank found on the floorboard of the vehicle, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The explosion caused Runk to suffer second- and third-degree burns and had to go to the hospital for a burn evaluation.

This is not an isolated incident.

The L.A. County Public Defender’s Office has received several criminal complaints from individuals who were charged when the police destroyed evidence before or during a trial.

In each case, police destroyed evidence because the prosecution declined to charge suspects on reasonable grounds, according to The Daily Beast.

“These cases are not about police corruption, but rather about police malfeasance,” said Ron Eddy, an L.A. County

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