Charges Dropped Against Man Arrested in Fight with Officer
By Raul Hernandez
VenturaCountyStar.com
Just four days before Business man Juan Betancourt was to go to trial, the District Attorney's Office on Monday
dropped the charges of misdemeanor resisting arrest and disturbing the peace again him.
The charges stemmed from an April fight between the Santa Paula man and an off-duty Oxnard police officer
near Winchester Bar & Saloon on Main Street in Ventura - and what happened after Ventura Police arrived.
"I am very pleased with the decision of the District Attorneys office," said Philip Dunn, Betancourt's lawyer. "I
believe Mr. Betancourt was absolutely innocent of what he was charged with. It was very disappointing that it
was ever prosecuted."
In a brief hearing, prosecutor Lisa Lyytikainen told Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kevin McGee that the
district attorney was dismissing the charges against Betancourt. "We couldn't prove it beyond a reasonable
doubt." Lyytikainen said in an interview. "What I understand is that additional witnesses came forward during
further investigation.
Release of files sought
The dismissal comes after months pf legal wrangling among Dunn, the District Attorneys office, and the Oxnard
and Ventura police departments. At issue were Dunn's attempts to obtain files related to the incident, which
eventually led to a judge ordering the District Attorney's Office and the two police departments to turn over
those materials. "one thing they were able to avoid by dismissing the case is giving us their own internal affairs
reports," Dunn said.
Betancourt, 33, got into a fight with Scott Coe, an off-duty Oxnard police officer, across the street from
Winchester's after 2 a.m. April 9. Ventura police responded, including Officer Ryan Kinnan. Betancourt, who
was on probation for drunk driving at the tie was arrested; Coe was taken to a police station and later released.
Each police department conducted an internal affairs inquiry about the incident. About a month ago,
Betancourt got a letter from Ventura police's internal affairs saying Kinnan's conduct and actions were "within
policy," Dunn said.
Ventura Assistant Police Chief Skip Young said in a recent interview that Kinnan had transferred to a police
department in Northern California. Kinnan couldn't be reached for comment. Both Young and Oxnard Police
Chief John Crombach said they cannot discuss internal affairs investigations. When asked in an interview
about Coe, Crombach said, "He's working. He hasn't been charged with any crime." Coe declined to comment
for this report.
On September 26, McGee ordered District Attorney Greg Totten, the Oxnard Police Department and the
Ventura Police Department to allow Dunn to examine investigative reports and other evidence. Internal affairs
investigations reports, by law, are very difficult to obtain, and lawyers must get a court order to access them.
The district Attorney had also requested police interviews with witnesses and other evidence from Ventura
police, according to a district attorney document dated Aug. 23 from prosecutor Alvin Arzu. Prosecutors never
received these documents, Lyytikainen said. In addition, she said, the district attorney recently filed its own
legal petition to obtain the personnel files of the officers.
Case may not be over
"We never received the material because we never got that far," She said. Although Oxnard and Ventura police
departments, along with the district attorney, avoided possible contempt of court charges for not turning over
police internal affairs investigations, and other evidence to the court, the case might not be over.
Dunn said he is considering filing a federal lawsuit against the cities of Ventura and Oxnard. Dunn claims his
client was struck three times in the back of the legs by Kinnan. Court documents filed by Dunn indicate that he
had planned to substantiate this claim at trial with witness accounts, including those of two club bouncers and
the manager, and a video surveillance camera mounted on top pf Winchester's.
"The injuries to Mr. Betancourt are substantial," Dunn said. "Both of his legs show massive bruising from the
wounds inflicted from the use of a large club by the police officer."
