"Paul Gentile Smith, granted a new trial in 2021, pleaded guilty Monday, Jan. 26, in Orange County Superior Court to voluntary manslaughter for the 1988 stabbing death of his boyhood friend and marijuana dealer as part of an agreement struck with prosecutors on the eve of his retrial. Smith, who has served 16 years, on Monday was given an additional 12 years, which his attorney, Scott Sanders, said will be cut by more than half for good time and other credits."
"It is because of his (Wert's) conduct, his unethical behavior and engaging in behavior that may have bordered on the limits of criminal that I have to do what I really don't want to do today, the judge said, noting Wert didn't face Goldstein in person. You can thank Mr. Wert for this plea that I'm stuck taking, Goldstein said."
"Goldstein excoriated the original prosecution team, including former prosecutor and current Judge Ebrahim Baytieh and retired sheriff's Sgt. Ray Wert, who sent his attorney to read a letter of protest at Monday's court hearing. In his letter to the court, Wert called Smith a diabolical and violent person and a truly demented psychopath, who threatened the detective's life from behind bars when he was in county jail."
Prosecutors withheld evidence in a 1988 torture-murder case, leading to a new trial for Paul Gentile Smith, who had been sentenced to life without parole. Smith pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Orange County Superior Court as part of a plea deal reached on the eve of retrial. Smith, who has served 16 years, received an additional 12-year term that his attorney said will be reduced by more than half for good conduct credits, placing his likely release in about five years. Judge Daniel Goldstein condemned the original prosecution team and singled out retired sheriff's Sgt. Ray Wert for unethical conduct.
Read at www.ocregister.com
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