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ByGillianFlaccus TheAssociatedPress SANTAANA ThecityofFul- lerton,California,saidMon- day that it reached a settle- ment in the death of a men- tally ill homeless man who died after a violent arrest that brought national scru- tinytothesuburban univer- sity town. The city agreed to pay $4.9 million on the morn- ingthatopeningstatements were to begin in the wrong- ful death lawsuit, said Ron Thomas, the father of the late Kelly Thomas. He declined further com- ment in advance of a news conference scheduled for later in the day. In a statement posted on its website, the city said it had reached a deal but added that it was not final until approved by its insur- ers. The city did not specify an amount. Ron Thomas sued over the 2011 death of his son, who was homeless and had schizophreniathathadledto pastinteractionswithpolice. Two Fullerton officers were cleared during a crim- inal trial last year. Former Officer Manuel Ramos was acquitted of second-degree murder, and former Cpl. Jay Cicinelliwasacquittedofin- voluntary manslaughter. Both were also found not guilty of excessive use of force. Prosecutors dropped charges against a third offi- cer after the verdicts. A 33-minute surveillance video recorded the confron- tation as it unfolded. The video, matched up with au- dio from Ramos' body re- corder, was a central piece of evidence in the criminal trial. ThevideobeganwithRa- mos stopping Thomas after the officer answered a call about a disheveled man jig- gling the handles of car doors in a busy transit cen- ter parking lot. The Orange County city of about 140,000 residents is about 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Ramos grew frustrated with Thomas, who wasn't following orders to sit on a curb with his hands on his knees. Just before the alterca- tion began, Ramos snapped on plastic gloves, made two fists and then held them in front of Thomas' face as he said, "Now see these fists? They're going to (expletive) you up." Cicinelli, who arrived a few moments later, jolted Thomas several times with an electric stun gun and used the butt end to hit Thomas in the head and face, breaking bones. Cicinelli told investiga- tors that he hit Thomas in the face because he feared he was grabbing at his stun gun. An independent auditor found that the officers had violated the city's use-of- force policies. The report noted that Ci- cinelli was recorded imme- diately after the incident sayingthathehad"smashed his face to hell" and "(ex- pletive) beat him probably twenty times in the face with this Taser." FULLERTON By Brian Melley The Associated Press LOS ANGELES A man im- prisoned 16 years for rape and sex assault convic- tions was exonerated Mon- day and ordered freed af- ter DNA evidence linked the crimes to a serial rapist on the FBI's most wanted list. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Ryan granted a petition to release Luis Vargas, who was serv- ing a sentence of 55 years to life in prison for a forc- ible rape and two attempted rapes. Vargas broke down, plac- ing his hand to his fore- head and covering his eyes as the judge ordered the case dismissed during the brief hearing packed with family and law school stu- dents who had worked to free him. Vargas, 46, who was taken back into custody because of immigration is- sues, told his lawyers to tell his family not to worry and that he would be home soon, said attorney Alex Simpson of the California Innocence Project. "I'm sure they've been worrying for the past 16 years about what's going on with this case, whether or not we'll ever see today," Simpson said. He's very, very thankful that we're here today." His lawyers expect he'll be released by immigration authorities because he was a legal resident at the time of arrest and the matter is connected to a conviction that has now been reversed. Lawyers and students for the innocence project at California Western School of Law took up the case af- ter Vargas got in touch in 2012 and said he thought he was wrongly convicted of crimes that were the work of the so-called Teardrop Rapist. The notorious predator known for a tattoo of a tear- drop under his eye has been linked by DNA to 11 crimes and is suspected of 35 in to- tal across the Los Angeles area, the Innocence Proj- ect said. Vargas has a simi- lar tattoo. Vargas told the court on the day of his 1999 sentenc- ing, "I'm concerned (the) individual (who) really did these crimes might re- ally be raping someone out there, might really be kill- ing someone out there." In cases dating back to 1996, the Teardrop Rapist approached girls or women in the early morning walk- ing to work or school, pulled a weapon such as a gun or knife, forced them to a se- cluded area and sexually as- saulted them, officials have said. Police in 2012 released several sketches of the sus- pect they described as a light-skinned Hispanic man between 40 and 55 years old. His most striking char- acteristic is the tattoo some victims have reported see- ing on his face, though there are conflicting reports about which eye it is under or whether there is more than one tear. COURTS Convict in 3 sex crimes freed by DNA tied to fugitive rapist CALIFORNIAINNOCENCEPROJECT Luis Vargas, center, stands with his daughter Crystal Vargas and son Daniel Vargas at his community college graduation ceremony held within the walls of a California state prison in Blythe. REED SAXON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Demonstrators embrace a er Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas announced that two police officers will be charged in the death of Kelly Thomas, a mentally ill homeless man, at a news conference in Santa Ana. Settlement in post-arrest death of mentally ill homeless man By Sudhin Thanawala The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO The un- dercover FBI agent at the center of an organized crime investigation in San Francisco's Chinatown tes- tified Monday that he did not always tell a key de- fendant why he was pay- ing him and discussed in- vesting in the defendant's book project. Under cross-examina- tion for the first time, the agent said he misspoke when he told jurors dur- ing earlier testimony that he always told Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow that he was paying Chow for connecting him to other people for criminal activ- ity. He said he had one con- versation about investing in Chow's book, but was never given a manuscript. Prosecutors say Chow took over a Chinese fra- ternal group with criminal ties after having its previ- ous leader killed and ran a racketeering enterprise that engaged in drug traf- ficking, money laundering and the sale of stolen ciga- rettes and alcohol. The investigation previ- ously led to the conviction of a state senator. Chow's attorney say the agent instigated the crimes for which people were later arrested and forced money on Chow, often when he was drunk. They say Chow — a for- mer gang leader — was reformed, wanted noth- ing to do with crime and was looking forward to lu- crative book deal about his life. Curtis Briggs, one of Chow's attorneys, said Chow repeatedly said "no" when the agent offered him money. "How many times does somebody have to say "no" before you don't put the envelope in their pocket," Briggs asked. The agent said Chow never tried to give the money back. 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