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Key informant in LAPD scandal faces prison time

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The key informant in the Los Angeles Police corruption scandal will likely return to prison for his role in a felony he told authorities about under a previous plea bargain, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Former officer Rafael Perez has agreed to plead guilty to two felony counts of violating the civil rights of Javier Francisco Ovando, who was shot and subsequently framed by Perez and his former partner, Nino Durden, in 1996, according to U.S. Attorney John Gordon.

Perez served nearly three years in jail for stealing 8 pounds of cocaine from a police evidence room before being released in July after agreeing to cooperate with authorities.

He received immunity from state prosecution -- but not federal prosecution -- in exchange for revealing alleged widespread corruption in the LAPD Rampart Division's anti-gang unit.

In one of the first cases that defined the magnitude of corruption, Perez described how he and Durden shot Ovando several times during a gang surveillance operation and conspired to cover up the shooting by planting a gun on Ovando and lying about it in court.

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Ovando, paralyzed from the shooting, was convicted of assaulting the officers and sentenced to prison in 1997. Ovando was released from a 23-year sentence after investigators learned he was framed.

After Perez revealed his role in the Ovando shooting, federal authorities decided his plea deal did not include federal immunity and opened a separate investigation that included a civil rights case against Perez.

Perez's plea agreement calls for him to serve two years in federal prison when he is sentenced December 17.

In March, Durden entered into a plea agreement with state and federal prosecutors stemming from the Ovando shooting and other charges.

Durden is expected to be ordered to serve at least seven years and eight months in state prison when he is sentenced in January.

In addition to the Ovando case, Perez told investigators how he and his former partners routinely planted drugs and guns on suspects, fabricated arrest reports, beat suspects in custody and in some cases shot unarmed, innocent people during gang sweeps in a crime-plagued region west of downtown Los Angeles, according to transcripts of their discussions.

More than 100 criminal convictions have been overturned as a result of the scandal, and the city of Los Angeles has signed a consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department requiring federal oversight of the police department's management and training policies.

Rafael Perez: Federal prosecutors said his plea bargain with the state did not apply to them.

Since the corruption probe began nearly four years ago, eight officers have been charged with criminal misconduct and more than 70 officers in the LAPD's Rampart Division faced allegations of misconduct.

But experts expect most of those cases will be dismissed because of insufficient evidence or because the statute of limitations has expired.

Federal authorities will pursue more charges against current and former LAPD officers, according to U.S. attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek.

State prosecutors announced Thursday their investigation into allegations of corruption would continue with at least 60 new criminal cases for review.

Earlier this month, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley announced his office would finish its investigation in December without further prosecutions.