Court Reverses Murder Conviction

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Defendant Matthew Dragna
Defendant Matthew Dragna

Laguna Beach police erred in continuing to question murder-robbery suspect Matthew Dragna after he invoked the need for a lawyer, leading a court of appeals to overturn his 2013 Superior Court conviction.

An opinion issued by the California Court of Appeals last week reversed the jury’s guilty verdict in the bludgeoning death of Damon Nicholson, a well-liked Hotel Laguna catering manager killed in 2009.

The panel of three judges ordered a retrial of Dragna, who police initially arrested several weeks after the murder at a drug recovery house in Santa Ana, court records say.

A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office says no court date has yet been set for a retrial.

Dragna previously lived with his mother and sister in a dense Lake Forest apartment complex. Another resident of the complex, Jacob Quintinilla, was also arrested in 2009 for allegedly serving as an accomplice in the murder. He has yet to stand trial, court records show.

 

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