Rod Wright

[District Atty] – A jury found State Sen. Rod Wright guilty Tuesday of living outside his Inglewood district when he successfully ran for his state seat in 2008, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.

The Los Angeles County Superior Court jury deliberated less than two days before finding Wright guilty of all eight counts, including two counts of perjury, one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy and five counts of fraudulent voting in elections in 2008 and 2009, all felonies. Deputy District Attorneys Bjorn Dodd and Michele Gilmer with the Public Integrity Division prosecuted the case.

On Feb. 13, 2008, Wright declared his intent to become the Democratic candidate for the 25th Senate District, claiming that he lived in one of the units at 868 Glenway Drive, a five-unit complex that he owns in Inglewood. He claimed the same address when he registered to vote in 2007.

Wright, who previously served in the state Assembly, was elected to the state senate on Nov. 4, 2008. Prosecutors argued that Wright misled voters in the 25th Senate district because his true residence was his Baldwin Hills home, which is in the 26th district. A Grand Jury indicted Wright on eight felony counts in September 2010. Wright returns to court on March 12 before Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy for sentencing. He faces up to eight years, four months in state prison. He also would be barred for life from holding any elected office.