LA County Prosecutors accuse DA of retaliation after supporting Menendez brothers' resentencing

ByABC7.com Staff KABC logo
Wednesday, February 5, 2025 2:49AM
Former prosecutors on Menendez brothers' case accuse DA of retaliation
Two Los Angeles County deputy District attorneys who were pushing for the release of the Menendez brothers are planning to sue District Attorney Nathan Hochman after being removed from the case.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Two Los Angeles County deputy District attorneys who were pushing for the release of the Menendez brothers are planning to sue District Attorney Nathan Hochman after being removed from the case.

They said that when Hochman took over as DA, he demoted them and assigned a new team to the Menendez brothers' case, who are serving life in prison for the murder of their parents.

Prosecutors Nancy Theberge and Brock Lunsford filed a notice with the court that states they plan to sue Hochman, the County of Los Angeles, the DA's office and another deputy DA for harassment, discrimination and retaliation.

Theberge was in charge of LA County's resentencing before Hochman came in. Lunsford was Assistant Head Deputy Post-Conviction and Litigation.

They claim they were harassed and retaliated when Hochman came in with a "tough on crime" approach that went contrary to their recommendation to release the Menendez brothers, which had been supported by previous DA George Gascon.

They also claim they were retaliated against by their superiors and demoted to junior positions under the new DA. Theberge was transferred out to the DA's office and Lunsford was demoted to a non supervisor role.

The counsel for the prosecutors released the following statement:

"Nancy and Brock are committed public servants and accomplished attorneys who followed the law - the law they believed required them to advocate for the resentencing of the Menendez brothers. The harassment and retaliation that followed was politically motivated, illegal, and devastating."

Theberge also claimed she was discriminated against for her age and gender and was publicly defamed and accused of breaching her duty of candor to the court.

Lunsford claimed he was discriminated against for supporting Theberge. He also said he was publicly defamed and called incompetent and "quisling," meaning a Nazi collaborator by a superior.

They are seeking more than $250,000 in economic damages and over $5 million in non-economic damages.

The Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition released a statement on behalf of the family of the Menendez brothers that said in part; "Their commitment to the facts and the law was a source of hope for us, reaffirming our belief in the justice system's ability to evolve.

The decision to remove these dedicated prosecutors from the case, however, underscored exactly what we feared, that political influences might overshadow justice."

Eyewitness News has reached out to DA Hochman for comment, but has not heard back.

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