A former Glendora man was released from prison after 27 years when his 1985 murder conviction was overturned last year has filed a claim against the county, as well as a detective and the estate of another detective who investigated the case.
Frank O’Connell, 55, was convicted of slaying of 27-year-old Jay French in South Pasadena on Jan. 5, 1984. He has maintained that he was innocent of the crime.
But after more than 27 years in prison, and assistance from the nonprofit organization Centurion Ministry, which is dedicated to freeing wrongly convicted prisoners, O’Connell’s conviction was thrown out March 29 of last year by Pasadena Superior Court Judge Suzette Clover, who cited major problems she found with O’Connell’s trial.
“Police officer investigating his case withheld critical information,” said O’Connell’s attorney, Barrett Litt. “(They) gave misleading information in reports which led to a conviction.”
By law, police and prosecutors must turn over all evidence, including exculpatory evidence, to the defense, Litt explained. “That’s a very well-established rule.”
“It came out that they withheld notes that they had written contemporaneously with interviews,” Litt said.
In overturning O’Connell’s conviction, Clover also pointed out that a key witness in the original 1985 murder trial have since recanted his testimony and claimed a detective pressured him to identify O’Connell as the killer.
Prosecutors did not seek to re-try the case, saying they were unable to gather sufficient evidence.
Litt said a claim against Los Angeles County was filed Monday, Litt said. Also named as defendants in the case are one of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detectives who handled the investigation, along with the estate of his partner, who is now deceased.
The claim seeks unspecified damages, the attorney said. In past cases, juries have awarded $1 million for each year a person was wrongfully imprisoned.
Since his release from prison last year, O’Connell has moved to Colorado where he works at a cabinet shop, Litt said.

GLENDORA — Police arrested four people Thursday for using fraudulent gift cars to make hundreds of dollars worth of purchases at Walmart, as well as possessing two loaded handguns, authorities said.
Arrested were Fernando Gonzales, 34, of Riverside; wanted parolee Desiree Gurba, 36, of La Puente; David Alvarez, 33, of Azusa; and Howard Reyes, 28, of Los Angeles, Glendora police Lt. Rob Lamborghini said.
All were booked on suspicion of burglary and other charges, the lieutenant said. Fraud-related charges were also likely to be added later.
Two loaded handguns were recovered from inside the suspects’ car, Lamborghini said. Gonzales was accused of possessing one of them, while police were still determining who was responsible for the other.
In addition to the fraudulent gift card they used to purchase more than $600 worth of merchandise from the store, 1950 Auto Centre Drive, “They were in possession of about two-dozen gift cards,” Lamborghini said. Police were looking into whether those cards were fraudulent as well.
The arrests occurred shortly after 7 a.m. when a Glendora police officers was flagged down by a Walmart employee in the parking lot and told that there was a forgery in progress, the lieutenant said.
The four suspects then exited the store and headed to their car, he said. Assisting officers arrived and the four were taken into custody without a struggle.
According to Los Angeles County booking records, Gonzalez and Reyes were being held in lieu of $20,000 bail, while Alvarez was being held in lieu of $30,000 bail and Gurba was being held without bail.
All four were scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in West Covina Superior Court.

GLENDORA — Police arrested one suspect and sought three more after a man was beaten and robbed early Thursday along Colorado Avenue.
Ryan Kuklinski, 19, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and robbery in connection with the 3 a.m. incident in the 400 block of East Colorado Avenue, just east of Pasadena Avenue, Glendora police Lt. Rob Lamborghini said. His city of residence was not available.
Though no weapons were believed to have been used in the assault, the four-against-one attack was being investigated as an assault with a deadly weapon due to the potential for “great bodily injury” displayed.
“We’re still looking for three other potential suspects, as the victim claimed there were four attackers,” the lieutenant said.
The victim, a man in his early-20s, was beaten by the four men and robbed of several items, Lamborghini said. He declined to say what exactly was stolen as the search continued for the additional suspects.
“We’re still working on it, so information is limited,” Lamborghini said.
The injured man was taken to a hospital with injuries not believed to be major, Detective Zach Houser said.
Responding officers found Kuklinski several blocks away in the 600 block of Scott Place and arrested him without a struggle, Lamborghini said.
The other three suspects were described only as male and possibly Asian, Houser said.
According to Los Angeles County booking records, Kuklinski was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail pending a scheduled arraignment Monday in West Covina Superior Court.