Brady is target of federal probe

Jeff German and Bill Gang

Wednesday, Aug. 26, 1998 | 10:35 a.m.

Former Metro Police officer Christopher Brady has received a letter informing him that he's a target of a federal grand jury investigation into the December 1996 drive-by shooting of Daniel Mendoza.

This comes as District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski on Tuesday ordered a Sept. 28 hearing to determine whether new evidence uncovered during the grand jury probe is enough to grant former Metro Officer Ron Mortensen, who was convicted in the shooting, a new trial.

Prosecutors sent the target letter two weeks ago to Brady's lawyer, Steve Stein.

Stein, who no longer represents Brady in the criminal investigation, declined comment today.

But the letter is an indication the grand jury, which is set to disband at the end of September, is winding down its criminal civil rights probe into the Mendoza shooting. Targets of the grand jury generally are given an opportunity to testify when an investigation is nearing its end.

The Brady investigation, which also may be focusing on Brady's activities not related to the shooting, is being conducted jointly by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in Washington and the U.S. attorney's office in Las Vegas.

Brady was the chief witness against Mortensen, who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Brady was not charged in the murder.

But Mortensen and his lawyer, Frank Cremen, have contended that Brady, not Mortensen, pulled the trigger in the shooting.

At the Sept. 28 hearing, Pavlikowski will determine whether information that has begun filtering from the federal grand jury warrants a new trial for Mortensen.

Cremen is expected to call a string of Metro officers to testify about alleged statements made by Brady, Mortensen's one-time partner and companion on the night of the shooting.

Brady, however, who came forward two days after the murder and admitted his role as the driver of the getaway truck, may not testify.

Metro Officer Marc Barry has testified before the grand jury that Brady had told him several times prior to the killing that he wanted to do a drive-by. He also has testified that other officers might have heard Brady's remarks.

Barry had previously denied knowledge of Brady's comments when interviewed by Metro homicide detectives.

The homicide unit has been re-interviewing Barry and other officers amid the revelations coming out of the grand jury investigation.

Deputy Chief Mike Hawkins, in charge of special operations for the police department, said today he isn't surprised to learn that Brady has received a target letter in the federal probe.

"I think he was a target in that investigation from day one," Hawkins said. "This department has never maintained that Brady was right in what he did. We've just maintained that we didn't have the evidence to go forward with a criminal prosecution.

"What we've heard at this point doesn't change the facts of the original investigation," Hawkins added. "If there's evidence that comes out of the federal grand jury investigation that would support a charge of homicide, we certainly will pursue it."

District Attorney Stewart Bell, whose office prosecuted Mortensen, said today it's too early to tell whether there's enough new evidence to go after Brady.

"The position of this office is that the physical evidence and witnesses independent of Brady clearly indicate Mortensen was the shooter and his conviction was valid," Bell said.

"Whether or not there will be additional evidence that indicates new charges could be successfully pursued against Brady we don't know yet."

Mortensen testified at his trial that Brady is the one who leaned across the truck during the bout of playful harassment of street gang members, picked up Mortensen's pistol and fired the shot that killed the 21-year-old Mendoza. He charged that Brady set him up to take the fall.

The conversations, Barry stated, occurred during off-duty hours at a local pub that is a hangout for officers from the Southeast Area Command. It is the same tavern where Brady and Mortensen went after the Mendoza shooting.

Cremen has been arguing that if the information had been available at the trial, it would have supported Mortensen's position and there would have been no conviction.

Bell said that the statements attributed by Barry to Brady were not contemporaneous to the Mendoza murder but apparently occurred months before.

Brady was given no immunity or other guarantees against prosecution for his testimony against Mortensen.

There also is a question whether Brady would testify because he is a federal grand jury target and could invoke his Fifth Amendment rights against self incrimination.

While Brady admitted he had been at the murder scene and, in fact, had driven the getaway truck, he denied knowing that gunfire was going to result from the confrontation he conceded he and Mortenson had instigated to harass street gang members.

The district attorney's office decided that Brady hadn't committed any crime and shouldn't face criminal charges as an accomplice, although defense attorneys criticized the decision because drivers in drive-by shootings routinely are prosecuted.

The difference with Brady, according to prosecutors, is that he came forward to tell his story and solve the crime without having first been arrested -- unlike most drive-by shooting cases involving gang members.

Mortensen was convicted of first-degree murder largely on the testimony of Brady, who detailed a night of drinking, erratic driving and systematic harassment of drug dealers and gang members in the area between Maryland Parkway and Paradise Road near Twain Avenue.

But the trial wasn't just a credibility contest between Brady and Mortensen. Several people who were dodging bullets coming from Brady's truck testified that Mortensen was the one they saw firing the shots.

Ballistic evidence showed the bullets came from Mortensen's pistol, although he testified that Brady had picked it up from the passenger seat, leaned across the truck and fired the shots out of the passenger window.