Summary
“The Witness: The Murder of Donald Sarpy” looks into Franky Carrillo and reveals how one eyewitness can build a road to conviction, even if it isn’t viable.
Franky Carrillo was charged with the murder of Donald Sarpy. Episode 4 gives us a scenario: a young kid who lived in an area of gang-related violence in a place called Lynwood, LA. Franky was subject to gang violence a few times and was brought into a gang called Young Crowd purely by association. The Innocence Files Episode 4 is a choppy story.
On January 18, 1991, a drive-by occurred outside a house with black 15-year-olds chilling on the lawn. Dameon Sarpy, Scott Turner, and friends were there. Donald Sarpy, a father, was shot and hit on the side, and he did not make it. The Sheriff’s department was convinced the murder was related to the Young Crowd gang in retaliation for the “blacks.”
Six days later, the sheriff’s department arrives at Franky’s house and handcuffs him.
Episode 4 recounts how there was pressure to solve more murders in the area; there were also some deputies that were deemed to be neo-Nazis, tasked to fight back at the gangs called Vikings. One of those deputies was Ditsch. Ditsch investigated the murder and showed a book of photos of the Young Crowd gang to Scott Turner, who picked out Franky Carrillo as the man who committed the murder.
Episode 4 shows how unlucky Franky Carrillo was — he had a lawyer who barely spoke to him, and at the preliminary hearing, Scott Turner identified him. Scott stated he knew who Franky was, so he was classed as a star witness.
And then in the trial, all the witnesses outside the house on the lawn that evening pointed at Franky Carrillo in the hearings. However, the twist came when Scott Turner changed his mind. When the District Attorney asked why he was recanting his testimony, Scott stated that he could not point anyone out.
There is a claim that Deputy Ditsch kept asking Scott Turner to point out pictures until he arrived at Franky Carrillo.
Episode 4 did not present a lot of evidence that he is innocent, but this is the first part of the next three episodes. The main evidence so far is that Scott Turner did not actually see Franky Carrillo, despite being the intended star witness. Franky also has an alibi that he was with his father that night, but it was deemed weak by the district attorney.
The outcome is that Franky Carrillo was found guilty of murder, but at his sentencing, a new attorney states that a new witness claims that Franky Carrillo was not at the scene that night.
Deputy Ditsch was very defensive when interviewed about his case against Franky Carrillo.
Read More:
