After Three Years, DA Finally Settles on 16-Month Sentence in Alleged Gang Attack

Mr. Rios was just 15 years old at the time and the case lasted so long that Mr. Rios had long since been released on his own recognizance.  The 16-month prison sentence was a mere paper sentence, as both Mr. Rios and Mr. Morales were instructed to go directly to the parole office, a move that was highly unusual.

Ultimately, the defense agreed not to appeal the case in exchange for the DA not retrying the assault with great bodily injury, that would have come with a gang enhancement, which could mean a second strike and a mandatory prison sentence.

The DA for a long time refused to just go with the existing convictions, the stand-alone gang charge under Penal Code 186.22(A), along with petty theft and receiving stolen property.

The petty theft charge was a lesser included charge after the jury acquitted him of robbery, as it became less than clear as to whether he actively stole the property by force or simply found the property on the ground, as he claimed, and picked it up.

There were multiple suspects in this attack, but ultimately the District Attorney’s office only pinned this on two young kids who were most readily identified, perhaps by their flamboyance as they exited the scene.

Mr. Rios had a tough life even by the age of 15. He had lost his mother when he was just 11 years old and developed a bad drinking problem.

According to the probation report, Mr. Rios estimated he drank “about a half gallon of E7J and beer.” He does not remember anything about the day or the offense.

His sister said the same thing in an interview with the Vanguard. “My brother was intoxicated so he does not remember. He was sort of intoxicated to the point of lapses of memory.”

But things are going better these days for Mr. Rios.  He has gone to AA and has cleaned up, no longer drinking. He is holding down two jobs while putting himself through nursing school.

Said attorney Rod Beede at his sentencing, “He’s truly earned his opportunity.”

Judge Paul Richardson, who also presided over his original trial, told Mr. Rios to keep up the good work and that he hoped he would never have to be involved in the judicial system again.

It was a good moment for Mr. Rios, but a long time in coming and it is still unclear what exactly transpired that night.

The Woodland based “Woodland Journal” had a headline in November of 2009, reading, “WesSac Norteño punks convicted of felonies, but due back in court for one more.”

The DA in their press release reported, “On November 4, 2009, a Yolo County jury convicted two young West  Sacramento men of being active participants in the Norteno Criminal Street Gang. Charles Rios (16) and Benito Morales Jr. (16) were convicted of felonies, under Penal Code section 186.22(a), as well as theft, under Penal Code section 484. Rios was also convicted of felony receiving stolen property, pursuant to Penal Code section 496.”

It added, “The jury hung 11 to 1 to convict the pair for Assault by Means of Force Likely to Cause Great Bodily Injury, pursuant to Penal Code section 245(a)(1). Both individuals were charged and tried as adults.”

The press release continued, “On March 12, 2008, a National Guard soldier was in a parking lot in West Sacramento, where he was beaten into a coma and his wallet was taken.”

They write, “One witness to the incident reported that five minutes prior to incident, Charles Rios asked him for a knife and told him to leave because he was plotting something. A separate witness heard the commotion, and identified Rios and Morales as fleeing from the fallen victim. As they ran away, the witness heard Rios yell out “Broderick in the house!””

According to the release, the witness heard Morales boasting that he had jumped the victim. Police later located Charles Rios in possession of the victim’s credit cards and social security card.

Benito Morales Jr and Charles Rios were both identified by West Sacramento Police as members of the Norteno criminal street gang.

In truth, the events of that night are murky at best.  The victim does not remember the events and the police believe anywhere from between five and 15 people were involved in a confrontation.

The probation report said that officers were sent to the Oakmont Apartments for a report of a male victim lying face down in the parking lot, covered in blood.

He was found unconscious and appeared to have suffered severe head trauma.

Witnesses reported that he was hit in the head with a beer bottle, and there hada been someone yelling something like like BRK [for Broderick].

Mr. Rios was found very drunk and verbally aggressive.  He was also found to be in possession of two credit cards and a Social Security card in the victim’s name.  He stated that the victim “jacked him” in the chin so he “got him back and took his [stuff].”

According to medical records, the victim was in critical condition when transported to UC Davis Medical Center. He suffered facial fractures, cuts and abrasions in the head and face area, pulmonary failure and a concussion.

The victim was from Texas, but had been in California for about two months attempting to reconcile with his ex-wife.  They had gotten into an argument the day of the assault and she kicked him out.  He went for a walk and the next thing he knew, he woke up in the hospital.

According to the defense attorney, Rod Beede, the victim was not blameless in this encounter.  That he went wandering into the West Sacramento apartments and began hanging out with a group of teenagers, attempting to get drugs.  However, the kids began to suspect he was in fact a “Narc” and that eventually began an altercation.

Johnna Marosky, the sister of Mr. Rios, said he was drinking with everybody and asked if they knew how he could get marijuana.

No one, however, actually saw the attack.  According to the probation report, “One witness stated he did not see Arauz get hit, but he heard the bottle break. He then saw two persons, Rios and co-defendant Benito Morales, ride away on bikes. As they were riding away, Rios supposedly yelled, “B-R-K in the house!”

They originally wanted to try Mr. Rios for attempted murder, but that was dropped after the preliminary hearing, after the DA was unable to prove specific intent.

Mr. Rios’ sister, Johnna Marosky, argued that the DA used manufactured evidence against her brother.  They had a red t-shirt that appeared to have a large amount of blood on it.  She said that the DA did not do a DNA on the shirt.

She told the Vanguard, “The detective police report says that my brother was just covered with blood, which I know was untrue because I was there when he was arrested and he had a small amount of blood on his t-shirt, from his own self, his own hands.”

Indeed, the police report from Detective Donald Schlie said, “I assisted Lugo with gathering Rios’ clothing which was covered with blood. Lugo also took photos of Rios’ injuries which included scratches to his chest and arms, a swollen right pinky knuckle, a laceration to the top of his left hand as well as lacerations to several of his fingers. It was obvious Rios was in an altercation of some sort.”

But later testing showed the blood turned out to be his own.  And it is far from clear that the injuries to his hands were caused by the fight.

The injuries more likely occurred when he went back to his home and began yelling and punched the door and broke the windows.

These factors probably played a large role in the fact that the DA ultimately did not retry the case.

But still the case dragged on and on, to the point of frustration for even a veteran attorney like Mr. Beede.

In December of 2009, Mr. Beede wrote Deputy DA Jay Linden, “You are welcome to disagree with me, but even were you to retry the hung count one and obtain a true finding on it being for gang purposes in adult court you would not obtain a state prison sentence against my client who remains a minor and was only 15 years old at the time of this incident.”

He added, “It is my belief that to load him up with adult felonies, gang enhancements, and perhaps multiple strikes basically ends any chance he has for a positive, law-abiding future.”

Indeed, the probation report argued that, given his age and his alcohol problem that he was attempting to deal with, “it is believed the defendant should be give the opportunity on probation to prove himself, however, only if it were to be “attached to a state prison term.”

Gang charges played a huge role in this case. 

According to the probation report, someone was reported yelling “something like ‘BRK.’ ”  Moreover, in searching Mr. Rios’ residence, “Officers located numerous ‘Norteno’ gang-related drawings and writings.”

Another witness reported, “As they were riding away, Rios yelled, “B-R-K in the house!””

His sister, however, believes that the police were trying to make the case for the gang injunction in this case.

She said the police made a lot out of a tattoo of “SAC” which had the “s” and “c” crossed out.  She said that the police claim this symbolized the gang crossing out “scraps” – a Norteno derogatory term for “Sureno,” their chief rival.  But Ms. Marosky told the Vanguard her brother said it meant “dollars and cents.”  He was supposedly just 13 when he got the tattoo.

Ultimately, Ms. Marosky was angry at the way this process worked, as it took far too long, from her perspective, to adjudicate.  Moreover, she sees a group of vulnerable kids, preyed upon by the DA who was seeking to score political points and justify the West Sacramento Gang Injunction.  “My main concern is how young people have been socialized by the legal system,” she told the Vanguard. “They are being made out to be monsters and they are not. These are kids that have, they have special circumstances. My brother has special circumstances.”

She did acknowledge that he was “acting out really bad.”  But she also said he is not a bad person and that he did not have a history of violence.  Indeed, playing in his favor in this case is the fact that he had no meaningful priors and no real history of violence.

But his drinking problem was a concern and it remains such, even as he has it under control.  “He’s probably going to have to have a problem with it the rest of his life. It runs in the family. At this time or when the incident happened, my brother was struggling. He lost his mother at 11 years old,” she said.

However, things are looking up for Mr. Rios, who may have faced up to 16 years in prison according to calculations from the probation department.

“Another chief concern is the way the DA handled the case has far-reaching effects. It’s not just the defendant. It’s the family, the stress,” Ms. Marosky said.  “When we first started this case, the DA was threatening… 20-something years in prison.”

One plea offer was for 8 to 9 years.  Ultimately, they got just 16 months and Mr. Rios never set foot in a state prison.  However, it took over three years to resolve the case.

As frustrating as that process may have been, it may have played to his advantage.  By the time the case was concluded, Mr. Rios was an 18-year-old and clearly back on a path to right himself.  Nevertheless, there are clear problems with the case.  He was overcharged from the start, evidence that he was involved in an assault was weak at best, and the length of time between the final disposition and the trial was highly unusual.

While his sister is understandably frustrated with the process and concerned about his having a felony on his criminal record, should Mr. Rios keep clean, he could eventually get that charge removed from his record.

Meanwhile, Mr. Beede views it as an opportunity for both the defendants to turn their lives around.  “What they do with it,” he told the Vanguard, “who can say.”

—David M. Greenwald reporting