Officer convicted of murder seeks new trial

Mortensen's attorney filed a motion seeking the trial on the grounds newly discovered evidence taints the testimony of a witness who identified him as the man who shot Daniel Mendoza.

Ruben Ramirez picked Mortensen out of a physical lineup following the Dec. 28, 1996, shooting. Testifying at Mortensen's trial on May 1, 1997, he was asked how the shooter pulled out the gun.

In a motion filed Thursday in District Court by attorney Frank Cremen, Mortensen argued evidence not available at the time of his trial would discredit the testimony of Ramirez.

In his motion, Cremen said prosecutors relied heavily on the testimony of witnesses who were at the scene. "Of those alleged eyewitnesses, only one, Ruben Ramirez, was able to identify Mr. Mortensen as the alleged shooter," he wrote.

Ramirez testified he went outside that night to smoke a cigarette, according to Cremen. During trial the witness said he did not drink or use drugs, and that neither he nor any of his associates had a gun that night.

But Cremen contends Ramirez is the subject of a criminal complaint filed in federal court in September. Ramirez was arrested in January on the complaint, which accuses him of distributing illegal drugs.

The drug charges, which Cremen said deal with offenses that occurred before Mortensen's trial, suggest Ramirez was outside that night because he was supervising a drug distribution ring.

Cremen said the new information about drugs and weapons bolster Mortensen's testimony that a fellow officer fired the shots that night after seeing someone produce a weapon.

Mortensen is serving a life sentence for the killing of the 21-year-old Mendoza. During the trial, Mortensen blamed Mendoza's death on fellow officer Christopher Brady, who was not charged with any crime and who no longer is a police officer.

The two men had been among a group celebrating Mortensen's 31st birthday. Afterward, the off-duty officers went to Mendoza's neighborhood near Flamingo and Paradise roads to, as Brady later described, "harass dopers and bangers."

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