An appeals court panel Tuesday reversed the attempted murder conviction for a man found guilty of intentionally striking an Oceanside motorcycle officer with a car, marking the second time his conviction has been overturned in recent years.
Roberto Ignacio Flores, 32, has been convicted twice by North County juries of attempted murder for allegedly driving a Dodge Neon into Oceanside Police Officer Brad Hunter on June 19, 2017. The crash left the 29-year veteran of the department hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
Flores was sentenced in 2017 and 2021 to nearly 30 years to life in state prison.
Flores’ first conviction was overturned after an appellate court panel ruled his attorney didn’t follow Flores’ preferred defense strategy. Flores sought to argue he was not the driver who struck Hunter, while his attorney John Wilschke argued Flores was the driver, but striking Hunter was unintentional.
After the conviction was overturned, Wilschke was appointed to be Flores’ attorney for the retrial over Flores’ objections. At one point, Flores moved to represent himself because of his conflict with Wilschke.
Later, Flores told a judge that he did not want to represent himself anymore, but also he did not want to be represented by Wilschke because of what happened in the first trial.
Wilschke also told a judge that he “was in a difficult position” both because Flores wanted a new lawyer and was “in essence representing himself in a certain capacity.”
In its Tuesday ruling, a three-justice panel from the Fourth District Court of Appeal wrote that Flores did not receive effective representation in his second trial because his requests for a new attorney were repeatedly overruled and his mistrust and unwillingness to work with Wilschke should have led to the appointment of a new attorney.
“The crime in the case is undoubtedly heinous, but Flores was entitled to counsel with whom he did not have an intractable conflict and fundamental mistrust based on the prior proceedings,” the ruling reads. “In our view, on this unique record, the trial court’s unwillingness to accommodate Flores’ undaunting requests for a new lawyer fell outside the bounds of reason and constituted an abuse of discretion.”
Hunter was struck after pulling over a driver for an expired registration near Oceanside Boulevard and Foussat Road.
Flores, who was not involved in the traffic stop, allegedly accelerated and veered directly into Hunter, who was flung up and flipped over the defendant’s car, according to prosecutors. Hunter suffered head injuries and his leg was broken in three places. The officer had to be placed in a coma until swelling on the brain subsided.
Flores sped away, but was captured a few minutes later, according to prosecutors, who alleged that after his arrest, Flores bragged to a sheriff’s deputy posing as an inmate, as well as a confidential informant, that he struck Hunter with the car.
City News Service contributed to this article.
