Matthew Turner Defense Team Appeals Murder Conviction

The defense team for Matthew Turner, the Highland Park teen who was convicted last summer for a 2008 murder on Marmion Way, has appealed the verdict, claiming misconduct on behalf of the Los Angeles Police Department and the District Attorney.

Wayne Turner, Matthew Turner's father,  told Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch that Defense Attorney Christopher Darden filed the appeal with the Los Angeles Superior Court last week.

The elder Turner maintains that a Los Angeles Superior Court jury falsely convicted his son of the 2008 murder of Adrian Betancor, in a verdict that was handed down in August of 2010.

In a complaint filed on Friday, July 15 by Darden to the Superior Court, he states that prosecuting attorney Andrea Pott withheld information about the payment and relocation of two of the prosecution's witnesses during the trial.

Further, Turner claims that LAPD Detective Lisa Governo declined to tell the court that a key witness told her that he had "never seen Matthew Turner" before and that he was "the wrong guy."

When brought before the defense during the request for retrial, Governo admitted under oath to withholding the witness' misgivings from the court.

updated: Turner told Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch that the judge who presided over his son's case was biased against the younger Turner due to his affiliation with a local gang. 

According to police reports, Betancor was killed on the 5700 block of Marmion Way in a drive-by style shooting. Witnesses said the driver of the pulled up to Betancor and 19-year-old Joey Chavez and asked them "Where they were from." The driver proceeded to then fire on the two teens, killing Betancor and hospitalizing Chavez.

Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch has contacted the Los Angeles Police Department and is awaiting comment.