Global Courant
Contra Costa County prosecutors have dismissed misdemeanor charges against two men accused of mutilating a woman’s corpse — the latest case to be fouled by a racist texting scandal that turned the police of Antioch upside down.
Ashton Montalvo and Deangelo Boone were arrested in October 2022 and charged with arson and mutilation after the burned body of 25-year-old Mykaella Sharlman was found near a hiking trail in Antioch.
Sharlman’s autopsy ruled out murder, but Montalvo and Boone were accused of setting Sharlman’s body on fire and placing it in a garbage can. according to Mercury News in San Jose.
Sharlman’s death was attributed to a fentanyl overdose, according to the Bay Area television station KNTV.
In April, Mercury News reported on an FBI and State Department investigation into the Antioch Police Department that revealed dozens of officers had been sending racist and homophobic messages to each other for years, using anti-black slurs and other derogatory terms.
The report sent shock waves through the department, with more than 40 officers implicated in the scandal.
The case against Montalvo and Boone relied “heavily” on investigations by several Antioch police officers associated with the racist lyrics, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement last week.
The agents were not identified.
“After a thorough evaluation of the role of the officers in this case, application of relevant legal principles and consideration of ethical responsibilities, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office no longer has confidence in the integrity of this prosecution,” the office said.
The dismissal allows charges to be re-filed if new evidence is developed.
The firing was criticized by Sharlman’s sister Nicole Eason, who called it “unacceptable” according to KNTV.
“We’re getting ready to get a lawyer,” Eason told the news station. “We’re getting ready to fight.”
The case is one of dozens dropped due to multiple and overlapping investigations into Antioch police officers, other police departments and even the Contra Costa Country district attorney’s office, according to Mercury News.
In late May, a Contra Costa County judge dismissed gang charges against four men, two of whom were referenced in racist text messages from Antioch officers, after records showed prosecutors disproportionately targeted black people with higher sentences.
Last month, California Atty. General Rob Bonta launched a civil rights investigation into the Antioch Police Department.
Where there are “allegations of potentially pervasive bias or discrimination,” Bonta said in a statement, “this can undermine trust that is critical to public safety and our justice system.”
