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Judge drops 1 charge against veteran OPD officer Phong Tran
A judge in Alameda County has tossed out one of the charges against a veteran homicide investigator for the Oakland Police Department. Judge Scott Patton dismissed a single charge of attempted bribery of a witness against Officer Phong Tran, saying his actions were just part of routine police work.
OAKLAND, Calif. - A judge in Alameda County has tossed out one of the charges against a veteran homicide investigator for the Oakland Police Department.
Judge Scott Patton dismissed a single charge of attempted bribery of a witness against Officer Phong Tran, saying his actions were just part of routine police work.
Previous coverage:
- Veteran OPD homicide investigator pleads not guilty to perjury, threatening witness
- Oakland police investigator headed for trial after allegedly bribing witness in botched murder case
- Veteran Oakland homicide investigator surrenders; arrested on perjury, threatening witness charges
- Oakland police investigator paid witness $5,000, coached testimony, woman testifies
The dismissed charge involved testimony from a woman who said Tran offered to help her son get out of jail in exchange for her help identifying the killers of the Charles Butler Jr., the East Bay Times reported.
Butler Jr. was killed in December 2011 in Oakland.
Tran is facing other felony charges for perjury, bribery, threatening a witness and other allegations that he has pleaded not guilty to.
Tran’s attorney on Friday requested the other charges be dismissed, but the judge denied that motion.