Witness Jailed in Santa Ana Slaying Is Freed : Courts: Man who refused to testify before the grand jury in the death of a teacher’s aide is released when the panel is replaced by new members.

SANTA ANA —  A Santa Ana man jailed as a reluctant witness in a gang-related killing of a local teacher’s aide has been released from custody after 13 months, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Lawrence Azevedo, 21, was held in contempt of court for refusing to testify before the Orange County Grand Jury about the February, 1992, killing of Joel Davalos, who was gunned down at a back-yard birthday party in a tragic case of mistaken identify.

Authorities say Azevedo’s testimony is critical to the prosecution of suspects. One suspect remains at large, while another was freed because of insufficient evidence. A third suspect was killed in a separate gang shooting.

Under the law, Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner had no choice but to release Azevedo when the 1993-94 grand jury stepped down last week after its year of service, Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark A. Sevigny said Wednesday.

Prosecutors could bring Azevedo before the new grand jury in an effort to compel him to testify, but Azevedo has shown no willingness to talk even though he was given immunity from prosecution.

“He was let go,” Sevigny said. “At this point, we could not proceed with the case.”

Davalos and his wife, Sylvia, both 21, were celebrating at a friend’s birthday party when gunmen burst into the back yard of the friend’s home, opening fire. Sylvia Davalos was critically wounded, but survived.

Police suspect the victims were mistakenly believed to be rival gang members.

The senseless attack outraged county residents--and prosecution was troublesome from the start.

Authorities said they suspected that Azevedo drove the gunmen to the crime scene, but did not witness the shooting. Azevedo initially told Santa Ana police that he sat outside while gunfire erupted, but a judge ruled that his statements were inadmissible after Azevedo alleged he was coerced by police.

Murder charges were originally filed against Azevedo; Artemio Rios, 22; Luis Plascencia, 21, and Joseph Florencio Arvizu, 21, all reputed gang members or associates. Arvizu, who was never arrested in the killing, remains at large.

Charges were dropped against the three others because of insufficient evidence. They were refiled against Rios and Plascencia, but dropped again when Azevedo refused to cooperate.

In June, 1993, Brenner took the rare step of jailing the witness until he agreed to testify before the grand jury against the remaining defendants.

Defense attorney Frederick McBride had opposed the jailing of his client from the start, arguing that Azevedo was being unfairly punished. McBride could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

In October, 1993, Rios was killed in a gang-related shooting. Sevigny said law enforcement officials have not given up hope of prosecuting the case and are still looking for any witnesses or other information that can assist them.