Jury Convicts Attorney in Staged Crash

An Encino attorney was convicted Wednesday of nine felonies stemming from the investigation of a staged 1992 freeway accident during which a carload of four men deliberately swerved in front of a big rig truck on the Golden State Freeway near Sun Valley.

Attorney Gary P. Miller was convicted of seven counts of insurance fraud and two counts of conspiracy. But a Superior Court jury deadlocked on the provocative issue of whether Miller was also guilty of second-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Jose Luis Lopez Perez, who was a passenger in another car involved in the scam. That car was crushed by the truck.

After a week of deliberation, jurors deadlocked, 7 to 5, for not guilty on the murder charge. Prosecutors will announce Oct. 9 whether they plan to retry Miller for murder, according to Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

The case focused national attention on the use of staged accidents to commit auto insurance fraud. Miller is believed to be the first attorney ever charged with murder in such a scheme.

Two co-defendants--Rubidia Lopez, 31, and Isiais Martinez, 34--were acquitted Wednesday of murder, the sole count against them, Gibbons said.

Two more co-defendants--Juan Carlos Amaya, 27, and Elena Shamis, 42--are awaiting trial on charges that include murder, conspiracy and fraud. Their next court date is Oct. 23.

The driver of the car that was crushed, Jose Sanchez, was sentenced in 1994 to four years in prison. He pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.

The accident allegedly involved what investigators call “swoop and squats,” in which the driver of one vehicle swoops in front of the so-called “squat” car, forcing the second driver to slam on the brakes in front of a big rig. In trying to avoid the purported “squat” car, however, the truck driver flipped his rig onto the vehicle, crushing Perez.

Prosecutors allege that Amaya drove the “swoop” car, Gibbons said.

Miller, due to be sentenced Oct. 9, faces a maximum of 10 years in state prison. “We’re going to be asking for a lot less than that,” said his lawyer, Harland W. Braun.