San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.comNorth County prosecutor suspected of withholding evidence in rape case

North County prosecutor suspected of withholding evidence in rape case

A North County prosecutor is under investigation, suspected of withholding evidence in a high-profile rape case.  The case resulted in a plea bargain last month and the rapists walked free.

Now, the mother of the victim is speaking only to News 8.  And, she's accusing the San Diego District Attorney’s office of a cover up.

It was a brutal case of rape by intoxication in San Marcos.  Three north county men accused of kidnapping a Palomar College student in May of 2008, getting her drunk and gang raping her.

“She was then left with no clothes and a dirty sheet to wear,” prosecutor Dan Rodriguez said during the defendants’ arraignment in February of this year.

News 8 has learned Rodriguez is now the subject of an ongoing disciplinary investigation.  He’s accused of withholding evidence in the case.

Initially Rodriguez told the mother of the 18-year-old rape victim that all three defendants -- Vince Barnett, Robert Melgoza and Brian Shippee -- were facing serious prison time.

“We were told they were looking at -- with kidnapping and rape charges -- they would be looking at 20 years to life,” said Tammie Heintzman.  She said Rodriguez assured her the case was solid.

“I remember Dan Rodriguez saying, ‘We're only going to go to court if we feel like we can win.  And, we feel like we can win.  There was a great, great criminal injustice done to your daughter, ’” Heintzman told News 8.

From the beginning, the case was high profile.  The victim had met one of her attackers on the MySpace web site.  But Heintzman insists her daughter was ready to testify.

“She did want them to pay for what they did.  She did feel that she could stand up in court,” Heintzman said of her daughter.

In the end, however, the case would not go to trial.  At the last minute, a new prosecutor was assigned to the case and soon thereafter the District Attorney’s office reached a plea bargain with all three defendants.

Two pleaded guilty to rape by intoxication, the third to felony assault.  All three walked free after serving just 8 months in jail.

It wasn't until later that Heintzman, the mother of the victim, says she finally found out why the original prosecutor, Dan Rodriguez, was taken off the case.

“It was shared that Dan had been suspended and it was related to the case, and it was related to misrepresenting evidence,” Heintzman told News 8.

The evidence withheld was favorable to the defense.

All three defense attorneys involved in the case -- David Rawson, Herbert Weston and James Dicks -- confirmed to News 8 that prosecutor Dan Rodriguez failed to turn over in a timely manner what they called highly exculpatory evidence, including a tape recorded police interview with the victim and statements the teenager made during a medical exam.

The new prosecutor, Kate Flaherty, quickly offered the defendants a plea deal.

“Out of the gate, there was concern about the strength of the case,” Flaherty said.

One concern was the emotional state of the victim, according to Flaherty.

“The mother had told us repeatedly that she was very concerned about the fragile psychological state of her daughter and would strongly prefer that she not testify,” Flaherty said.

Heintzman says that’s simply not true.  She believes the case was settled to make it go away.

“Covering up for the department, covering up for the D.A. was their priority, not the case, not my daughter and not my family,” Heintzman said.

Flaherty countered, “There was concern that we could end up with acquittals across the board.  And if that had happened the mother's present unhappiness would be nothing compared to how she would have felt after that.”

Heintzman’s unhappiness is now compounded by the fact that shortly after the three defendants walked away from jail her daughter ran away from home.

“I think she felt raped again, not just by the defendants but by what she called ‘the good guys,’” Heintzman concluded.

Insiders say Dan Rodriguez is no longer at the District Attorney’s office in Vista, and the county confirms an ongoing investigation.

Rodriguez himself declined in a phone interview with News 8 to talk about the case.

A spokesperson for District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis would only say Rodriguez remains employed as a prosecutor.

If Rodriguez does end up getting disciplined or fired, he would have a chance to appeal in a public hearing before the San Diego County Civil Service Commission.