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Inmate sues Butte County prosecutor over alleged fraud damages.
By Carly Plemons
A Valley State Prison inmate is suing a Butte County prosecutor and public defender over a 2008 plea bargain that resulted in a three-year prison sentence.
A suit filed in December claims the offices suppressed evidence in William Veaver’s previous criminal case. He’s seeking $5 million in damages.
Veaver took Butte County Deputy Public Defender Eric Ortner to court for allegedly “scaring defendant into taking a bad plea bargain with falsehoods” back in March 2008, according to his complaint.
In the suit, Veaver claims that his three-year incarceration was a result of this plea bargain gone wrong. He believed public defender Ortner mislead him by saying Veaver’s wife, Denise Chacoa, was going to testify against him in his criminal case trial by waiving spousal immunity.
This means that the prosecution can’t force the spouse to testify against a defendant if she were a witness or testify against him during his criminal trial.
In contrast, Veaver’s suit claims his wife had no intention of testifying against him and that Ortner concealed police interviews and information.
There is still no word from the district attorney or public defender’s offices as to their response to these allegations.
A case management conference will be held this July to further determine and discuss the details of how this suit should be handled.