Marquis Davis, 21, is currently behind bars for violating probation in connection with a 2011 burglary of an Orange County home.
Investigators at the scene found fingerprints, which were examined by Orange County Sheriff’s Office analyst Marco Palacio.
But Palacio is now under investigation, accused of clerical errors, failure to identify prints and mislabeling print cards.
[ Previous Story: Cases may be jeopardized after fingerprint analyst accused of mishandling evidence ]
In 2013, when Davis was on trial, he indicated none of that ever happened.
“So, you’re saying you have never made a mistake in 15 years?” asked an attorney.
“Doing fingerprints? Never,” Palacio said.
The Public Defender’s Office released the deposition recording Wednesday.
[ LISTEN: Robert Wesley deposition ]
Public Defender Robert Wesley said Palacio’s sense of infallibility may have resulted in unfair convictions.
“It’s going to require some file (investigations) and some other digging,” he said.
The State Attorney’s Office said the analyst handled more than 2,600 cases.
In the recording, Palacio said he had a very heavy case load, and trained new hires at the sheriff’s office.
It may take months to review more than 1,600 cases, all of which are now in question.
The sheriff’s office said Palacio has been assigned to other duties while he’s under investigation.