Suspect acquitted by Contra Costa jury of soliciting murders, convicted of fraud
Then, jurors convicted
Had Waldo been convicted of the conspiracy and solicitation charges, he faced life in prison.
Jurors said after the trial they had voted 11-1 in favor of finding Waldo not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, and of two murder-solicitation counts. Judge
In the aftermath of what has been a contentious case -- involving allegations of misconduct on both sides, an energetic defendant who passionately argued that he was innocent while briefly representing himself before trial, and a defense attorney who was held in contempt of court -- both sides claimed victory.
"As far as I'm concerned, we won," defense attorney
Prosecutor
"The defendant was convicted of 37 counts ... we are very pleased with the verdict," Yancey said.
Waldo was the manager of a Martinez recycling business, and was accused of setting up various schemes, including car insurance scams and falsifying documents at his business. He was also convicted of slashing tires of co-workers -- and his ex-wife -- during various disputes, and for charges related to a police chase.
Waldo did not contest most of the insurance fraud counts, and his attorney invited jurors to "hammer him" on those. One witness involved in one of the scams testified that he'd accidentally set himself on fire while burning a car on Waldo's behalf. Waldo was found not guilty of soliciting that witness to be murdered.
The murder case was largely built on the word of two jailhouse informants with lengthy criminal records. They testified that Waldo had provided them with a hit list -- snuck under a jail cell door -- and insisted they copy it by hand so Waldo's handwriting wouldn't be tied to it. One witness said the murder plot never existed and the alleged hitman was just trying to "get over" on Waldo.
Martin, Waldo's attorney, described the Martinez jail as a "rat's nest" and argued the two "jailhouse snitches" were not credible. He called them the "winners" of the case -- noting one was released from jail and the other was given probation for a serious felony charge -- and said they had "played" the
"It was absurd, that they were going to kill nine witnesses from one case and nobody's going to notice?" Martin said. "It was a con that these guys put on."
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