Another Wrongful Conviction in Santa Clara County
It didn't matter to Kenneth Foley's jury that Luke Gaumond testified to committing the burglary for which Foley was on trial. After all, the prosecutor had God on his side.
Despite Gaumond's testimony, a jury convicted Foley and a co-defendant at the urging of Deputy District Attorney Charles Slone, who told jurors he was "sickened" by the "fraud" of the defense: "I'm not here trying to convict innocent people," he assured jurors. "I believe in God."
Foley got 25 to life for breaking into a truck. The sentence would be unjust even if Foley were guilty, but Gaumond admitted that he committed the burglary while using Mashelle Bullington's car. Foley had the bad luck to borrow Bullington's car twelve hours later. Police were able to connect the car to the burglary, and then they connected Foley to the car. They apparently didn't believe Bullington when she said she'd let a man named Luke use her car, particularly after the truck's owner picked Foley out of a photo array.
Prosecutors in Santa Clara County have a history of ignoring evidence of innocence while they pursue questionable prosecutions. Here's an example and here's another. The Mercury News documented the problem is a series of articles entitled "Tainted Trials, Stolen Justice."
Foley's first trial ended in a mistrial when a prosecution witness violated a court order by testifying that Foley was on parole.
The incident was eerily similar to the case of Darcius Butler, highlighted in the Mercury News series. Butler was prosecuted for a home invasion robbery based on eyewitness identifications. In that case, too, co-defendants contended Butler was not involved. Slone was the prosecutor. And in the middle of the trial, the investigating officer improperly revealed that Butler was on parole -- a disclosure that eventually caused Butler's conviction to be overturned.
Further (albeit belated) investigation has persuaded the DA's office that no gun was involved in the crime -- a face-saving concession that allows them to maintain Foley's guilt while supporting his request for a sentence reduction. Foley has been released, after about a decade in prison, pending a new sentencing. He still hopes to have the conviction overturned, although the procedural hurdles to correcting a wrongful conviction at this point are formidable.
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