LOS ANGELES — In his own words, Matthew Fletcher is a "f— gang motherf— lawyer."
The defense attorney's crass self-assessment was captured on tape a few years ago while L.A. County sheriff's investigators eavesdropped on one of his conversations. It was typical bravado for a man who often speaks with rapid-fire profanity and can rattle off the turf boundaries of Compton's street gangs as easily as another attorney might cite sections of the penal code.
The persona has endeared him to clients, while aggravating prosecutors and detectives, some of whom say Fletcher behaves more like a defendant than a defense attorney.
