Nicole Lopes, who also goes by the name Nicole Castronovo, “was fair” when she demanded a mistrial for her client, Devon Wenger, just days after his trial on conspiracy and civil rights violations along with another former colleague. But the committee ruled that her subsequent decision to appear on a YouTube podcast with Wenger and ‘spin’ the mistrial as a victory was absolutely not the right thing to do, and a serious error of judgement.
The 23-page decision, signed by U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam, is just the latest courtroom drama unfolding over the prosecution of 14 former East Contra Costa officers, which began in August 2023. In court, Wenger has accused prosecutors of targeting him for attempting to expose wrongdoing in Antioch police, but two juries convicted him of crimes including steroid distribution and conspiracy to violate civil rights. He was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison last December.
“I appreciate the committee’s careful review and its conclusion that I did not lie to the court,” Lopes said in a statement to this news organization. “I hope that the public report will help correct the misconceptions of the past year so that I can begin to rebuild my professional reputation.”
Thirteen other former law enforcement officers, who worked as city police officers in Pittsburg or Antioch during their crimes, pleaded guilty or were convicted of crimes ranging from accepting tequila as bribes to overturning traffic tickets, to wire fraud and imposing a dog on someone without just cause. Wenger and ex-Antioch K9 officer Morteza Amiri were tried together last March, but just three days later Lopes filed for a mistrial, citing a lack of support from her company, her lack of sleep and mental health issues.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White kicked her off the case and questioned her “candor with the court” after Lopes appeared on a podcast as Amiri’s trial dragged on, portraying the mistrial as a victory and himself as a “fixer,” stating that Wenger — whom she called “Captain America” — would have a better chance of beating the case without his co-defendant.
Amiri was acquitted of conspiracy, but convicted of violating a man’s civil rights. He was sentenced to eight years behind bars for this and a scheme to defraud the city of Antioch by cheating on exams in order to receive a raise for education.
“The committee ultimately takes (Lopes) at her word to Judge White on March 5, 2025: that she was ineffective and incompetent to proceed with the trial,” the decision said. “The committee rejects its post-the-fact spin in the press and on YouTube that the mistrial was somehow a victory. Given the professional and reputational damage (Lopes) suffered, and the fact that Wenger was convicted in a retrial on the same charge of which his co-defendant was acquitted, neither ‘won’ anything.”
As for Lopes’ decision to file a lawsuit, the committee was more sympathetic, ruling that it was “probably the right thing to do and in the best interests of her client, at least at the time the request was made” and noting that while Amiri had three attorneys assisting him, she attempted to try the complicated case herself, having driven from Los Angeles on the eve of the trial.
“We believe that her misunderstanding of the text messages, coupled with her exhaustion, mental health issues, repeated admonitions, unfamiliarity with federal criminal practice, the Northern District of California and Judge White, and her reluctant efforts to represent Wenger alone, prompted her to seek a mistrial,” the decision said.
But Lopes’ troubles aren’t quite over yet. The committee noted that she had lost her job at her company and was under investigation by the California State Bar. White also recently demanded that she submit affidavits to him in response to specific questions about her handling of confidential discovery. The order is part of White’s efforts to find out who leaked confidential court documents to an independent Southern California news site, The Current Report, which published a two-part series portraying Wenger as a whistleblower who was retaliated against by prosecutors.
White, who once threatened to jail two San Francisco Chronicle reporters who refused to reveal a confidential source during coverage of Barry Bonds’ grand jury indictment, has ordered the depositions to be filed by Feb. 6.
#Panel #rules #lawyer #jailed #exAntioch #cop #error #judgment #lie #sentencing