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California prosecutor suspended after case is scrutinized in Smart investigationSANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- A deputy district attorney was suspended after his handling of a sexual battery case came under scrutiny by Utah detectives investigating the disappearance of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart.
Randy Payne, a veteran sex-crimes prosecutor in Orange County, was placed on paid administrative leave Oct. 4, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
Payne was suspended after questions were raised about a plea bargain in the case of a man who is being investigated by Utah authorities for a possible connection to Smart, who disappeared from her Salt Lake City bedroom June 5.
James Witbaard, 51, was arrested in California in January on suspicion of fondling two girls who lived in his neighborhood. He spent 23 days in jail before posting bail.
Salt Lake City police became interested in Witbaard after learning he visited Utah during the summer while out on bail, said Salt Lake City Police Capt. Cory Lyman, commander of a task force investigating Smart's disappearance.
In July, a month after Smart's disappearance, Witbaard pleaded guilty in California to felony sexual battery involving the two neighbor girls and was sentenced to time served plus five years' probation and counseling.
He was later arrested again after authorities received a tip that he was leaving California without permission from his parole officer.
During a search of Witbaard's car, probation officers found a kitchen knife, an ax and photographs of women and girls in bathing suits and underwear, according to a probation report.
Investigators vacuumed the car for potential evidence, such as hair or clothing fibers, and Utah authorities sent the evidence to a crime lab, where it is being evaluated, Lyman said.
Lyman stressed that Witbaard is one of several people investigators are examining and that they have no direct evidence linking him to Smart's abduction.
Deputy Public Defender Doug Lobato said he believed Witbaard, who is now being held without bail, had nothing to do with Smart's abduction and predicted detectives would soon turn their attention to other suspects.
He said Payne handled Witbaard's case responsibly, and the plea bargain was fair because the charges did not involve significant sexual contact.
Several prosecutors, judges and defense lawyers expressed surprise at Payne's suspension. They described him as a fair-minded and tough prosecutor who has handled several high-profile child molestation cases.
"He's the best trial lawyer I've ever had in my court," said Orange County Superior Court Judge Suzanne S. Shaw, who recently presided over a case that Payne prosecuted. "He knows the evidence inside and out. He doesn't have an agenda."
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas declined newspaper requests for comment. At the time of his arrest in January, Witbaard was on probation for the sexual battery of a 40-year-old woman in Huntington Beach.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
