A federal agent failed to disclose three criminal convictions to his bosses at the Department of Justice and misrepresented the nature of an alleged assault, according to court filings in two recent Los Angeles cases against protesters that ended with all charges dropped.<\/p>\n
The dismissals continue a nearly unprecedented streak of legal defeats<\/a> for the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in Los Angeles in cases that involve people accused of assaulting law enforcement during last year\u2019s demonstrations against the Trump administration\u2019s immigration policies. <\/p>\n Ashleigh Brown and Jonathon Redondo-Rosales \u2014 two protesters involved in chaotic demonstrations outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L.A. \u2014 were accused of assaulting a Federal Protective Service officer in August. <\/p>\n The officer, whose agency is responsible for securing federal facilities, alleged Redondo-Rosales punched him in the face, according to a defense motion. Brown then hit him while interfering with attempts to arrest Redondo-Rosales, federal prosecutors alleged. <\/p>\n Within two months, charges against Brown were dropped. In November, prosecutors announced they did not plan to call the officer, who was identified in court records at the time only as \u201cZ.C.,\u201d to testify in the assault case against Redondo-Rosales, according to a motion filed by his attorney, Kacey McBroom.<\/p>\n She said major issues with the officer\u2019s credibility crippled both cases. <\/p>\n Brown\u2019s case was dropped in late October, according to a judge\u2019s ruling in a related case, shortly after her federal public defenders informed the prosecution that \u201cZ.C.\u201d had a prior harassment conviction in Pennsylvania. <\/p>\n Brown\u2019s attorneys declined to comment. She also has been accused in a separate case of following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent to their La Mirada home and \u201cdoxing\u201d them by livestreaming their location. <\/a>She pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n The doxing charge recently was dropped by prosecutors after it was determined Brown had not revealed the agent\u2019s home address, an essential element of the alleged crime, according to motions filed in that case. She still faces stalking and conspiracy charges and is expected to go to trial this year.<\/p>\n In a motion in Brown\u2019s case, attorneys identified the officer as Zachary Conte. He has been with Federal Protective Service since at least 2022 and previously was assigned to Susquehanna, Pa., according to an article published on a U.S. military website. <\/a> <\/p>\n An agency spokesperson said in a statement to The Times that an internal review by its Office of Professional Responsibility was underway.<\/p>\n \u201cFPS law enforcement officers are held to the highest level of professional standards,\u201d the statement said. \u201cFPS OPR is conducting a thorough investigation into the matter, and the individual in question has been placed on administrative duty and his law enforcement authorities including his service weapon and badge removed pending further investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n Pennsylvania court records show Conte, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of harassment in Chester County in June 2021. Attempts by The Times to reach Conte at numbers listed for him in public records were unsuccessful, and court records do not indicate whether he retained an attorney in past cases.<\/p>\n When McBroom filed a motion seeking additional evidence about Conte\u2019s criminal history, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office claimed it had no Brady material to disclose, a reference to the landmark Supreme Court ruling that requires prosecutors to turn over evidence about an officer\u2019s history and past allegations of misconduct to defendants. <\/p>\n McBroom then found out \u201cZ.C.\u201d had two convictions for disorderly conduct and driving under the influence in Florida, which also had not been disclosed, according to the attorney\u2019s Brady motion.<\/p>\n In the Redondo-Rosales case, McBroom said she again zeroed in on the officer\u2019s credibility when pointing to a use-of-force report he submitted that claimed the defendant \u201cstruck me in the face with a closed left fist.\u201d<\/p>\n