Razo Guilty on 6 Counts, Plans to Appeal in August

A former Kirkland House resident was found guilty of six counts of armed robbery earlier this month by an Orange County, Calif. jury, but was acquitted of four similar charges of robbery.

Jose L. Razo '89, who could face up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on August 4, will appeal the case then, according to his attorney John Barnett.

The case garnered national publicity after Razo was arrested two years ago and charged with seven counts of armed robbery in Orange County and three counts of robbery in Los Angeles.

Razo's former lawyer, public defender James Egar, maintained that it was difficult for Razo, the son of immigrant parents, to reconcile growing up in the barrio with his lifestyle at Harvard. Razo, who played linebacker for the University's football team, needed to prove himself to his Harvard friends, Egar's defense maintained.

Egar gave up the case last year because of a possible conflict of interest, and Barnett, whose firm, Stewart and Barnett, is based in Santa-Anna, said he did not use that defense.

Not Guilty Plea

Razo, who is being held in an Orange County jail, pleaded not guilty to all charges. He had previously confessed to police that he had committed all ten robberies, but Barnett maintained that the confessions were the result of a state of "PCP psychosis," he said.

"He confessed to crimes he didn't do. He received information about the crimes from the real robber," Barnett said.

The attorney said he plans to appeal on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence in the case, potential prosecutional misconduct and because the judge allowed some of Razo's confessions as evidence.

"I don't understand why a jury would believe six of the confessions but not the other four," said Barnett. "It doesn't make any sense."