A Santa Ana man accused in a conspiracy to rip off a Costa Mesa convenience store of $32,000 had his criminal case dismissed, but is now facing deportation, his attorney said Wednesday.
Charges of conspiracy and grand theft against 36-year-old Jose Zarate Alvarez were dismissed Tuesday, defense attorney Russell Halpern told City News Service.
“But Costa Mesa police, being the nice people that they are, turned Mr. Zarate over to immigration,” Halpern said. “It was out of meanness on their part, so he’ll be shipped back to Mexico.”
Halpern claimed prosecutors did not have enough evidence to go forward with the case.
Susan Kang Schroeder, chief of staff for Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, said a judge did find enough evidence to proceed with a trial, but prosecutors decided against pursuing the case at this time. She declined to go into detail on why prosecutors made that decision, but said charges may be refiled later if warranted by further investigation.
Co-defendant Nora Mercado still faces two counts of conspiracy and is due back in court Nov. 20.
Mercado, who managed a 7-Eleven at 204 E. 17th St. in Costa Mesa, is accused of falsely reporting a carjacking and robbery to cover up a $32,000 theft from the business.
Mercado called police just before 10 a.m. Aug. 4 and told investigators she was carjacked and robbed as she left the store to deposit money from the business at a local bank, according to police.
She claimed a masked robber stole her 2003 Chevrolet Malibu and a $32,000 bank deposit at gunpoint, police said.
Police found the vehicle dumped nearby, and investigators found holes in her story while questioning her, police said. Prosecutors allege she left the store with $32,000 in cash wrapped in a 7-Eleven plastic bag and her shirt.
Investigators accused Mercado and Alvarez of devising the story to keep the cash.
Halpern criticized prosecutors for keeping “this guy in jail for two months when they didn’t have enough evidence,” calling it a “miscarriage of justice and a waste of taxpayers’ money.”
— City News Service