A defense attorney has alleged that a former top Orange County prosecutor, who is now an elected Superior Court judge, led a criminal conspiracy to withhold evidence in a murder trial for over a decade. The prosecutor, Ebrahim Baytieh, is also accused of misleading federal civil rights investigators regarding the concealed evidence and his use of jailhouse informants. The murder conviction of Paul Gentile Smith was dismissed in 2021 due to the hidden evidence and the refusal of sheriff’s deputies to testify. Baytieh was subsequently fired from his position in the district attorney’s office in 2022 after it was revealed that he failed to disclose the evidence to the defense. Supporters of Baytieh claim that he was fired for exposing the use of racially charged language by District Attorney Todd Spitzer. The defense attorney, Scott Sanders, alleges that 14 pieces of evidence helpful to the defense were also withheld in the Smith case, which Baytieh kept secret from Department of Justice investigators. Sanders is now seeking to have the case against Smith completely dropped, arguing that he can never receive a fair trial due to Baytieh’s alleged 14-year cover-up of the hidden evidence. Sanders argues that this was a criminal conspiracy and that those responsible should face federal prison time. Baytieh, who was elected to the bench with strong support from other judges, has not commented on the allegations. Sheriff’s officials declined to comment as well. District Attorney Todd Spitzer reiterated that the alleged misconduct occurred under the previous administration and that his prosecutors will not violate the Constitution and the rights of defendants to secure convictions. Sanders, who previously uncovered an illicit network of jailhouse informants in Orange County’s justice system, was able to get the district attorney’s office removed from a mass shooting case as a result of the scandal. The current case involves Smith, who was convicted of killing his friend in 2010 and was incarcerated in a section of the Orange County jail known as the “snitch tank,” where jailhouse informants were used. According to Sanders, three informants were used to engage Smith in the jail, but only one was disclosed to the defense, concealing the fact that it was an organized operation involving two other informants. Sanders claims that Baytieh and former sheriff’s officials worked together to conceal evidence of the informant scheme. Baytieh had a reputation for winning cases, but Sanders alleges that he cheated to achieve his success by hiding evidence and concealing the existence of the informant network. Sanders also accuses Baytieh of trying to protect his secret by not including the names of the sheriff’s deputies who assisted him in the illegal use of informants on the required Brady list of officers with past misconduct. This prevented defense attorneys from questioning their credibility in nearly 100 other cases that ended in convictions. An appellate court ruling in 2016 confirmed the existence of the informant network and its violation of defendants’ rights. A 2022 investigation by the Department of Justice further supported this ruling. During the federal investigation into the Smith case, Baytieh claimed not to recognize the names of the two undisclosed informants, according to Sanders. Other evidence, including a recorded phone call between Smith and one of the informants, was booked by sheriff’s investigators but not turned over by Baytieh. Smith also engaged in a scheme while in jail, further complicating the case.
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