By Antoinnette Borbon
The trial of co-defendants Billy Wolfington and Shannon Silva continued yesterday morning with the promise of a sober witness. Simone Mitchell, who had to be taken into custody on Friday, took the stand once again. She gave testimony about the night of September 2, 2011, only this time she seemed to be much more calm. She was able to answer all questions from both Deputy DA Ryan Couzens and from the defense attorneys.
After testifying on the stand, we heard the audiotape of Simone Mitchell from the night of the incident, taken by police officers. As most of her story stayed consistent with her testimony on the stand, a few things were unclear or rather hard to understand, due to the audiotape and the tone of her voice being low.
To note, a couple of things stood out. Ms. Mitchell said on the stand that she heard the two defendants say they were from Broderick. Later, in the audiotaped interview, we heard her give the statement, “They said they were the Broderick Boys,” when asked who they were. It was obviously unclear which statement was in fact truthful.
One thing was clear, though. She did not appear afraid of anything – she appeared a bit tired but sober. After the lunch break, we heard short testimony from three deputies from the Yolo County Jail. Deputy Oldhan testified to a couple of incidents between the two defendants and the staff. Deputy Oldhan told about an incident involving Wolfington and his defiant nature.
Although he did state that, once he was able to get control of the situation between himself and Wolfington with a punch, Wolfington was subdued and was actually shocked that the deputy hit him. Deputy Oldhan stated it was the type of hit that is what has to be used to gain control back from an inmate – “it worked,” he stated.
Afterwards, we viewed a very long interview between Gang Task Force Officer and Woodland Police Officer Omar Flores. Flores contacted Wolfington to see if he would agree to come in and do a voluntary interview. Flores’s hopes were to become more educated on gangs, their modus operandi. In the interview, Wolfington shared his story with Flores, but stated that that part of his life, living as a gang member, was over.
He explained his goals for the future. He wanted to remain free of prison to be able to raise his three-year-old daughter, work hard and keep attending church. He also had plans to attend a school to become an electrician. Flores, growing up around the hub of the Norteños gang, encouraged him to keep his word. As Wolfington sat listening and watching the video of the interview, tears could no longer be held back. He sat with his head down during most of the viewing, wiping those tears from his eyes. The day ended.
This morning the jurors saw the rest of the video. The next witness to take the stand was Crime Scene Investigator for the West Sacramento Police Department, Ruth Pagono. Officer Pagono testified to all of the evidence she collected from the crime scene. Several photos were taken and a lot of items collected.
Most of the testimony, however, pertained to the blood splatters on the wall and on a t-shirt worn by defendant Silva. In the CSI’s testimony, she stated there was what appeared to be an impression of a knife in blood, on the t-shirt of Silva.
Officer Pagano stated it looked like a knife had been wiped clean on the t-shirt. But defense attorney Ron Johnson argued it could have been possible the t-shirt was used to help stop bleeding from a cut that Silva had sustained during the altercation, which fit the exact size of the cut. It made sense. Mr. Johnson asked Officer Pagano if there were tests run on the blood found leading south away from where the body of Bobby Brittenum was lying. Officer Pagano answered “no, [the] Department of Justice felt it was not relevant.” Where have we heard this before?
Prosecutor Ryan Couzens talked about how he and Officer Pagono had begged and pleaded with the Department of Justice to test the blood, but they still refused.
The jury was shown several photos of the victim and the marked stab wounds. Office Pagono explained the different types of blood splatter and what may have caused them. She had also searched the room of the motel and found no knife.
Up next for the prosecution was Dr. Kimberly Evans. Dr. Evans was the attending physician on duty when Brittenum was brought into the hospital. She testified about the condition of the body and how hard they tried to assess his injuries. Dr. Evans pointed out all 14 stab wounds they found on Bobby.
She said the doctors try to do what is known as “damage control,” where they work fast to locate the life-threatening injuries. Dr. Evans stated they found an injury to the liver, 5 inches deep, which ended up puncturing the heart. She noted finding bleeding from Brittenum’s diaphragm area and several other places on his body.
But the most serious one was the stab wound to the liver which had punctured the heart. She also noted the stab wound to the neck, near the voice box. Dr. Evans talked about the blood loss and it being crucial to get his bleeding under control. As they worked hard to save Brittenum’s life, Evans stated the patient had begun to bleed diffusely and they were not able to stop it in time. Brittenum expired at about 3 a.m.
Defense attorneys Johnson and Brace had no cross-examination for Dr. Evans.
Up last today was Dr. Mark Super. Super performed the autopsy of Brittenum. In his autopsy report he noted finding 13, possibly 14, different stab wounds. He explained the life threatening ones included the cut to the liver.
Dr. Super found the heart to be punctured from a 5 to 6 inch thrust into the liver, moving upwards thru the diaphragm and into the heart. But he found the carotid artery to be severed and stated this is the injury which most likely caused his death. He stated that once the carotid artery has been severed, death is imminent.
It appeared by his statement the doctors did not know his carotid artery had been severed until it was too late. Dr. Super stated, “It was during the autopsy we noticed the artery being severed, that is why we perform autopsies to find the cause of death.” Under cross, Mr. Johnson asked about the injury to the back and what are known as defensive wounds.
Johnson brought to the jurors’ attention that there were small wounds on Wolfington’s hand and wrist, which appeared to be made from a knife. Mr. Brace pointed out the five-inch cut to Silva’s arm, also. It showed signs of a struggle among the three men.
At the close of the day, the jury heard from a toxicologist who tested the two defendants’ blood for meth. She testified to finding very small amounts, and stated these amounts could have been in their system for a week. She also stated the blood alcohol levels showed nothing, but, given the fact the tests were run so late, it was reasonable to say they were sober.
