Two prosecutors from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office who recommended the release of Erik and Lyle Menendez say they were demoted by D.A. Nathan Hochman and defamed by one of his close allies.
On Monday, Brock Lunsford and Nancy Theberge announced they would seek damages from Hochman’s office for “harassment, discrimination, and retaliation following their recommended re-sentencing of convicted murderers Eric and Lyle Menendez.”
The two former high-ranking members of the D.A.’s Office plan to sue Hochman and Deputy D.A. John Lewin for retaliation, defamation and discrimination, alleging it stems from their support for resentencing, which they said they were “obligated to recommend” based on the facts of the convictions.
On Oct. 24, they submitted a memorandum to the L.A. County Superior Court recommending they be resentenced.
Two weeks later, after Hochman’s runaway victory over former D.A. George Gascón, retaliation began, the two prosecutors allege.
The two say they were demoted to lower roles in the D.A.’s Office and mocked and ridiculed in online posts made by Lewin, a close ally to Hochman and an outspoken opponent of resentencing for the Menendez brothers.
While it is not unusual for a new D.A. to shuffle the decks when assuming office, it has led to legal challenges in the past, including nearly 20 similar retaliation lawsuits filed during Gascón’s term, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Theberge and Lunsford are seeking more than $250,000 in economic damages, and over $5 million in “non-economic damages,” their attorney says.
“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,” said their attorney Justin Shegerian in an email sent to KTLA. “The harassment and retaliation that followed was politically motivated, illegal, and devastating.”
A request for comment from the Times was not immediately returned by the D.A.’s Office.
Erik and Lyle have spent nearly 35 years in prison for the brutal killing of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, with a shotgun inside their Beverly Hills home on Aug. 20, 1989. The murders became one of the most high-profile American crimes of the 20th Century.
In October 2024, Gascón announced he supported resentencing for the brothers or clemency from the state should California Gov. Gavin Newsom issue it.
Hochman has been less transparent about his feelings regarding their convictions, despite a groundswell of public support and outspoken family members who want to see the brothers released from prison.
The brothers will learn more about their fates when they make a virtual appearance next month at their resentencing hearing at the Van Nuys Courthouse.
