Mr. Alimouri also defended a man in his early 20s who was accused of being an accomplice in a gang-related killing in San Pedro. He was additionally charged with being an accessory after the fact, which is a less serious charge than helping commit a double murder.
The prosecution claimed that Mr. Alimouri’s client was connected to a street gang in Long Beach and drove his co-defendants to a rival gang’s area in San Pedro, where his co-defendants killed two high-ranking Mexican Mafia members. After the killings, the client tried to get rid of his car and destroy evidence, as shown in text messages the LAPD found on his cellphone.
This was the second time Mr. Alimouri had represented this client, having previously helped him beat an attempted murder charge. In the text messages about destroying evidence, the client mentioned he had been in a similar situation before and knew what to do: destroy evidence.
Despite this, the jury found him not guilty of being an accomplice to the double murder. Mr. Alimouri convinced the jury that his client was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and thought he was only giving his co-defendants a ride for a gun transaction.