L.A County District Attorney Gascón's ACE Committee Approves Special Circumstance Filing In Murder Case

Monrovia CA

17 June, 2022

6:56 AM

Description

Press release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office: June 15, 2022 Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced today that his office's Alternative Charging Evaluation (ACE) Committee approved the filing of a special circumstance in the case of a Baldwin Park man accused of killing his girlfriend last July. "An internal committee of experienced attorneys with diverse backgrounds has reviewed the facts of this case and determined that, in this extremely rare instance, a policy deviation was warranted and approved the filing of a special circumstance allegation," District Attorney Gascón said. "The facts of this case are extraordinary and demanded further review based on our charging policies." Darryl Lamar Collins (dob 10/2/70) of Baldwin Park faces one count of murder with the special circumstance allegation of a prior first-degree murder conviction. An amended complaint with the allegation was filed on June 10. Arraignment on the new charging document is scheduled on June 16 in Department 38 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. On July 2, 2021, the defendant allegedly murdered Fatima Johnson, 53. Her body was found two days later by her daughters. Collins was convicted of two murders in 1998. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged. Case BA498678 remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. This press release was produced by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. The views expressed here are the author's own.