Posted on Thu, May. 22, 2003
DWIGHT ECHEVARRIA
Murder case will go back to judge
Court criticizes state attorney
BY LUISA YANEZ AND JAY WEAVER
lyanez@herald.com
In a stern rebuke to the Miami-Dade state attorney's office, an appellate court on Wednesday cleared the way for a new trial -- or possible release -- of an alleged accomplice in the 1982 murder of county police Officer Cheryl Seiden.
While not mentioning State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle by name, the Third District Court of Appeal tersely stated that her office was ''indisputably in serious, material and inexcusable breach of its agreement'' with defendant Dwight Echevarria.
The court said Echevarria should be permitted to withdraw his plea, which would nullify the conviction and sentence. It sent the case back to Circuit Judge David Miller.
The three-judge panel cited a previous ruling that said ''the state, above all parties, must keep its word'' and that any attempts to convince a court that ``it should be allowed to break it are unseemly and unworthy.''
Then the judges wrote: ``The last observation applies with even greater force to those individuals who knowingly broke the state's promise in the first place.''
They also noted that the ``[case] prosecutor [Abraham Laeser] who made the plea agreement and steadfastly insisted that it be honored is to be commended.''
As part of a 1983 plea agreement, prosecutors pledged not to oppose Echevarria's bids for parole. In exchange, he testified against the triggerman who killed the off-duty detective on July 14, 1982, during a botched robbery outside her West Kendall home.
But in September 1999, Fernández Rundle -- under pressure from the county police union and with her reelection on the horizon -- wrote a letter to the Florida Parole Commission. She mentioned that she wasn't supposed to comment about Echevarria because of the plea deal, but then she bluntly stated that killers of police officers ``should serve the maximum time possible under the law.''
Afterward, the board indefinitely suspended Echevarria's recommended release date of Nov. 18, 1999. Echevarria, now 42, the getaway driver in the botched robbery, has served more than 20 years in prison.
CAMPAIGN ISSUE
For Fernández Rundle, the Echevarria case exploded into a political fiasco during her 2000 reelection campaign -- fueled by a feud with the powerful 6,500-member Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association, whose endorsement is coveted in judicial politics.
Fernández Rundle, who was not involved in prosecuting the murder of Seiden, 33, could not be reached for comment. Messages were left at her office and with staffers, who said she would call back and fax a statement.
Her spokesman, Ed Griffith, said: ``We need to assess our options and then evaluate any future action.''
Laeser, the prosecutor, also could not be reached for comment.
In a 2001 Herald interview, he said: ``Deep down, it does bother me that this guy [Echevarria] got screwed.''
The appellate panel, including Chief Judge Alan Schwartz and Judges John Fletcher and Joseph Nesbitt, said the actions of Fernández Rundle's office left them with ''no choice under the law'' but to rule for Echevarria.
The ruling means prosecutors may have to try him again -- a dicey proposition with a two-decade-old case.
Echevarria's trial attorney, Peter Raben of Miami, said he hopes prosecutors will cut a new plea deal that allows Echevarria to plead guilty again but then be immediately released from prison for time served.
''When he initially pleaded guilty, he should have served 10 to 15 years,'' said Raben, who credited state Assistant Public Defender Roy Heimlich for his appellate work.
``Instead, he has served more than 20 years. We want to work out something so the will of the parties can be carried out.''
BROKEN PROMISE?
A prominent Miami defense lawyer and legal expert said that the case ultimately was about a broken promise.
''It's basically a simple case of a contract not being honored,'' said attorney Milton Hirsch, who is not involved in the case. ``In other words, a deal is a deal.
``Once you establish there is breach of an agreement between the prosecutors and the defendant, you have to remedy the problem, and this is what the court decided: The defendant can now go back to Square 1 or try to negotiate a new plea.''
Such a deal would likely reignite the political controversy over the case.
On Wednesday, the head of the Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association accused Fernández Rundle of possibly shortening the prison time of a convicted killer in one of South Florida's highest-profile police shootings.
''The bottom line now is that a cop killer could be set free because of the incompetence of the state attorney's office,'' said PBA President John Rivera, an outspoken foe of the state attorney. ``Once again, here's further evidence that Kathy Fernández Rundle does more harm than good in the community.''
The court decision also angered Cheryl Seiden's former husband, Miami attorney Mark Seiden.
`TWO TRAGEDIES'
''There are two tragedies associated with this case,'' Seiden said. ``The first was Cheryl's murder by Echevarria while she was a police officer trying to protect our community; the second was the terrible mishandling of her case by the Miami-Dade state attorney's office.''
The controversy over Echevarria's fate erupted at his fourth parole hearing on Sept. 22, 1999, which was attended by uniformed officers who were PBA members.
The PBA had learned that prosecutors made a 1983 agreement with Echevarria, who was facing a 25-year minimum-mandatory sentence if convicted of first-degree murder. The deal reduced the charge to second-degree murder, also requiring a life sentence but with the possibility of parole after six years.
Echevarria testified against the gunman, Reholga Mack, who was convicted and sentenced to four life terms.
But one part of the deal really irked the PBA -- a promise that no prosecutor would try to block Echevarria's release at any parole hearing.
Laeser signed off on the agreement with the approval of then-State Attorney Janet Reno, Fernández Rundle's mentor and predecessor.
