City Agrees to Settle Another Rampart Case
LOS ANGELES — The City Council on Wednesday approved spending $300,000 to settle a case with a man who served 14 months in state prison before ex-LAPD Rampart Officer Rafael Perez admitted falsifying the man’s arrest report.
Voting 9 to 2, the council authorized the settlement with Edward Y. Villanueva and his 4-year-old daughter. The girl claimed that her constitutional right to “familial” association was violated as a result of her father being sent to prison, according to a letter from the city attorney’s office.
Villanueva pleaded guilty in November 1996 to possession of a firearm by a felon after Perez alleged that he saw the man put two guns into the trunk of his car.
Perez later told investigators that he falsified the report, prompting the district attorney’s office in May to ask the court to set aside Villanueva’s conviction.
In recent months, the council has approved spending more than $1.2 million to settle four cases stemming from the Rampart scandal. With dozens of other cases and claims pending, officials estimate that the city’s liability could exceed $125 million.
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