Rap sheet may offer homeless man an alibi
DOWNTOWN LA — A Santa Monica homeless man representing himself in a murder trial has had his case postponed until June 20 as the courts attempt to help him find documents that may show he had an alibi.
The trial against David Thomas Wright, charged with killing a 20-year-old woman in 1998, began in March and had lasted about three weeks before it was postponed indefinitely. Now, prosecutors say the trial will resume nearly three months since it started.
Wright, who is representing himself in Los Angeles Superior Court, requested in April that he be able to collect evidence that might prove his innocence.
A court-appointed investigator, working on behalf of Wright, was charged to find any documents that might help prove his innocence — such as records or receipts showing Wright was somewhere else when the murder occurred. The investigator was supposed to provide those records at an April 29 proceeding, but that information has yet to be provided to the court.
The murder trial began March 21 and lasted through April 7, just as Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Ellen Aragon was prepared to make her closing arguments. Since then, the trial resumed and postponed on Friday, April 29, and most recently on May 9. The trial is set to resume June 20, when prosecutors hope to finally finish the proceedings.
As of May 9, the DA’s office had agreed to help Wright secure his evidence, which is expected to be discussed on June 20.
Wright was charged with murder for allegedly killing Aviva Labbe, who authorities found dead on June 14, 1998. Labbe was found lying face down in a walkway on the 200 block of Hill Street at a vacant Santa Monica home.
Labbe’s murder had been classified as a “cold case” and remained unsolved for nearly four years until a sampling of Wright’s DNA linked him in 2002 to the murder through the U.S. Department of Justice’s database system, authorities said. Convicted felons are required to give a DNA sample, which puts them in the database for authorities to periodically check.
“cold case” — Labbe’s murder had been classified as a and remained unsolved for nearly four years until a sampling of Wright’s DNA linked him in 2002 to the murder through the U.S. Department of Justice’s database system
Wright, 49, was found in the California state prison system serving a six-year sentence for the battery of a Santa Monica police officer during an unrelated incident, according to authorities. In January of 2001, a jury found him guilty of battery, resisting arrest and failing to register himself as a sex offender.
If proven guilty of Labbe’s murder by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ruth Ann Kwan — who is trying the case at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles — Wright faces life in prison.
Sources close to the case haven’t offered why Wright opted not to be represented by an attorney and to let a judge alone decide his case, especially since it’s believed such circumstances would not work in his favor.
The DA’s office is seeking to obtain Wright’s complete criminal history, as well as subpoena two witnesses who have already given their testimony to the court. Wright has requested those witnesses return so they may be cross-examined. They include realtor David Lennartson, who first reported seeing Labbe’s body, and Bonita Stewart, Wright’s Department of Corrections parole officer at the time of the murder.
Aragon said Wright may attempt to show, through his criminal history and the cross-examination of the two witnesses, that he may not have been the murderer.
Wright’s former public defender, Leonard N. Garber, has been on “stand-by” during the trial, often shifting out of frustration in one of the juror’s seats as Wright attempts to defend himself. Garber said he is Wright’s legally appointed attorney through the California Bar Association who Wright fired last year, possibly for disagreeing with his decision to not have a jury trial.
Judge Kwan has been thorough in the trial and provided Wright with as many legal opportunities as possible to defend himself within the full spectrum of the law, sources said.
Wright was evaluated by three psychiatrists to determine whether he was competent to stand trial, let alone defend himself. Garber disagreed with the panel of psychiatrists, who found Wright competent.
Aragon said it is unusual for a trial to be postponed as often as Wright’s, but she attributes it to the judge’s desire to ensure the proceedings are fair.
“The judge wants to make sure Wright has a fair opportunity to present all of the evidence in the case,” Aragon said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 11, 2005. Read the original PDF.