For Clay Rojas, it has been a long, hard fall from being a Santa Clara police officer and former Marine sergeant who served in Iraq to a disgraced ex-cop tied to a Hells Angel with a rap sheet.
Starting Tuesday, the 37-year-old Rojas will begin the process of finding out whether that fall will ultimately land him in a federal prison cell.
Jury selection is set to begin in federal court in San Jose for Rojas' trial on charges he illegally supplied confidential law enforcement information to a member of the Hells Angels to pay off a debt. Lawyers are expected to then move into opening statements in U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh's courtroom, where the trial is scheduled to unfold over the next two weeks.
A federal grand jury last year indicted Rojas on charges that he furnished confidential law enforcement records, such as criminal histories and DMV records, to William "Billy" Bettencourt, a suspected member of the Hells Angels' Santa Cruz chapter who also faces related criminal charges in state and federal court. Bettencourt, with past convictions for witness intimidation and other violent crimes, could wind up in prison for life under the Three Strikes Law if he is convicted in the state case.
Rojas, who has pleaded not guilty, is being tried separately. He faces at least several years in prison if convicted in what his lawyers say is an overblown case against an officer who made a mistake and lost his job.
In court papers filed
in June, federal prosecutors laid out a simple case against Rojas, who has remained free on bail while awaiting trial. The jury will consider 12 counts against Rojas for conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, improper access of a computer and illegal use of a computer for financial gain.
Rojas, a five-year veteran of the Santa Clara Police Department who was fired in the aftermath of his arrest, admitted to investigators in October 2010 that he conducted the records checks for Bettencourt because he was under pressure to repay a loan, according to government court papers. Rojas' alleged scheme was uncovered in September 2010.
In court documents filed in a related state case, Rojas told investigators he knew Bettencourt was a Hells Angel, but said he did not believe he had committed any wrongdoing. There were repeated BlackBerry text message exchanges between the two men uncovered by investigators, including one in which Bettencourt allegedly asked Rojas to get information on someone else.
"Want me to check her record?" the cop texted back. "Yes," Bettencourt messaged back, "Just lookn 4 dirt I guess."
The U.S. attorney's office declines to comment on pending cases, but in a recent court filing branded the conduct a breach of public trust. Santa Clara police brass will testify that other officers were warned in a memo not to associate with Bettencourt, court papers show.
"The quid pro quo was confidential information in exchange for additional time to repay a loan owed to Bettencourt," prosecutors wrote. "By providing this information to Bettencourt, Rojas breached the duty of honest services he owed the Santa Clara Police Department, as well as the citizens of Santa Clara."
Daniel Jensen, Rojas' lawyer, said he is puzzled by the federal charges, describing them as an overreaction to conduct that usually results in a firing, a misdemeanor and perhaps community service. Jensen concedes Rojas made a mistake and should not have accessed the law enforcement data for Bettencourt, but will argue there is no proof of a conspiracy or that Rojas got any financial benefit from the favors.
In addition to Bettencourt, Rojas also is charged in one instance with supplying confidential information to Vivian Rodriguez, a San Jose woman connected to the biker who also has been indicted in the case.
"They've overplayed the hell out of this case," said Jensen, who often represents police officers in trouble. "You say the words 'Hells Angel' in law enforcement and they think it's a big conspiracy."
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