None of the five Tucson Police Department employees fired in a prostitution ring probe will face criminal prosecution.
A letter from Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall obtained by the Star Thursday says there is not enough evidence to likely result in conviction.
βThe evidence presented from the criminal investigation is insufficient to prove that any of the accused city of Tucson employees engaged in any act of prostitution on any specific date,β LaWall wrote in a letter dated Sept. 11 to the state Department of Public Safety.
In the stateβs criminal investigation, each of the nine Tucson Police Department employees originally implicated in the case invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, and none submitted to an interview.
Several of the women identified as working for the prostitution ring also refused to be interviewed.
βBecause the evidence is insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime of prostitution was committed by any of these individuals, the state must decline to charge any of the employees with having committed that criminal act.β
In July, Tucson Police fired Officers Nathaniel Luttrell, Oscar Ramos, Daniel Santa-Cruz and Martin Walker, along with crime-scene technician Enrique Wilkins. All five have filed appeals with the cityβs civil service commission.
Mike Storie, an attorney representing the officers, said he isnβt surprised by the decision not to prosecute.
βThere was no proof that these officers committed any crimes involving these massage businesses,β Storie said.
LaWall wrote in her letter that text messages and phone records indicated Ramos and Santa Cruz had contact with the illegal business. However, women working at the businesses did not identify either in law enforcement lineups, she wrote.
LaWallβs letter also said a Department of Public Safety investigation found insufficient evidence against Walker, Luttrell and Wilkins. DPS found they had no apparent connection as customers, according to state documents prepared in the case.
Some details of individual officersβ possible involvement came to light through public documents obtained by the Arizona Daily Star that could not be considered by LaWall and her staff.
According to a rule called the Garrity warning, the statements made by the TPD employees in the internal affairs investigation cannot be used against them criminally. The rule is intended to protect employees of public agencies from incriminating themselves during investigations conducted by their employers.
Walker, Luttrell and Wilkins were fired after Tucson police internal affairs determined they committed violations βthat have a critical adverse impact on the professional image of the department,β TPD said.
Police did not release the investigative reports on the three detailing what the internal affairs investigation found. Those reports wonβt be made public until the appeals process has been completed, police said.
Two more officers resigned before the investigation was concluded: Officer Jesus Maldonado resigned in April, after two days on paid leave; and Sgt. Michael McGuire quit in June, after two months on leave.
Two other officers were cleared by Tucson police.
The department began investigating a ring of illegal massage parlors β which went by names like βBy Spanishβ and βDaisyβs Delightsβ β in December 2011.
A separate investigation into the operators was only conducted by TPD and is a different case for the county attorneyβs office to evaluate for criminal charges.
To date, only a former employee of By Spanish, who started a similar spin-off business, has been charged. Alma Santini-Herrera was sentenced in July to three yearsβ probation for receiving the earnings of a prostitute.
