And another high profile case fell apart today, this time because the main witness, a former policeman refused to testify. In February of 2006 - Jermaine Pascascio was found guilty of the murder of shopkeeper, Inez Blankie Leal. That happened in September 2003, at the height of a crime wave that targeted business people and the venerable shopkeeper's killing focused the community's outrage.
But now, Jermaine Pascascio is a free man. He was supposed to have a retrial but the DPP's office had to enter a nolle pros. Because the main witness in this case was PC Roman Cantun. He is no longer with the Police Department and he now fears for his life and that of his family. Pascasio's case was going to be heard in front of Justice Adolph Lucas but he was told he was a free man and he left the court uncuffed since he had no other cases pending that allowed him to be in police custody.
On April 10, 2006, Pascascio was sentence to life but he appealed and won. He was ordered a retrial, after Oswald Twist submitted that at his trial Justice Traodio Gonzales erred in law when he failed to uphold a no case submission made by the defense.
