$4.2 Million Settlement Reached In Dorner Manhunt Case, $1 Million Reward Still Being Debated
During the Christopher Dorner manhunt this past February, Margie Carranza and Emma Hernandez became an unfortunate and embarassing sidenote to the LAPD's investigation. Their truck was mistaken for that of Dorner's and was subjected to barrage of bullets from responding policemen. On Tuesday, they were finally vindicated.
Hernandez, 71, received two bullets to the back while her daughter Carranza, 47, suffered hand injuries from flying debris when officers opened fire on the February 7. They have now settled with the city of Los Angeles for a reported $4.2 million.
"In reaching this settlement, we hope Margie and Emma will be able to move on with their lives, the city will be spared millions of dollars in litigation expense and time, and this unfortunate chapter of the Dorner saga will be put to rest," Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said in a statement.
Many experts agreed that the settlement was fair, and perhaps even a bit high considering that the injuries were not fatal.
"I have a 71-year-old client," said Glen Jonas, the women's lawyer. "You think she wants to risk the appellate court reversing it for one reason or another? $4.2 million means a lot more to her today than potentially $7 million 10 years down the road."
Each woman would receive $2.1 million in the settlement, though that still has to be finalized by the City Council. Trutanich already gave them $40,000 to replace their truck which was riddled with bullets after the incident.
That's not the only reward related to the Dorner case that's in the Los Angeles court system, however. So far eleven different parties have laid claim to the $1 million reward that the LAPD issued for information leading to the capture of Dorner.
Due to legal issues, the claimants have yet to be named. The case is still somewhat unclear as various people provided assistance in different ways, and the literal interpretation of the requirements for the reward were not met, as Dorner killed himself before being captured. The LAPD has said that three retired judges will now decide who will receive the money. You can read more about that story here.
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