By Jackie Snyder and Lauren King
Closing arguments were scheduled to take place in People v. Adam Malik on the morning of June 10, 2015. However, at the last minute, further evidence was allowed to be presented. The defendant, Adam Malik, was called to the witness stand to testify on his own behalf.
Malik was asked several questions regarding his time in the U.S. Marine Corps, as well as his experience living with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Malik testified that he had been in the Marines 3.5 years before being sent to Iraq.
In 2003 he was deployed first to Kuwait and then to Baghdad, as well as various other destinations before being honorably discharged. Malik testified that he was consistently in fire fights and often in charge of monitoring violence. He stated it was his decision to be in the infantry and he expected to see disturbing scenes, however, he was not prepared for the level of violence which he witnessed.
Regardless, Malik testified that he was proud to be a Marine. He believed it helped shape him into the person he is today and he stated he has no regrets. During the time Malik served as a Marine, he was injured severely on two different occasions.
Once, before entering Baghdad, he was hit by shrapnel in the chest, and once while he was in Baghdad, a machine gun exploded in his face, leaving him with tinnitus for life. Due to these injuries, as well as his lack of mobility in the knee and ankle, Malik was prescribed pain medication, to which he later became addicted.
When Malik was asked if he had ever made false statements in the past as a means of obtaining more pain medication, he admitted he had. In addition to being prescribed pain medication, Malik was prescribed several types of medicine for anxiety. Xanax, he stated, was the only medication that he felt helped him cope.
Malik testified that, some time after he served in the Marines, he was involved in a Sierra County shooting (he was shot at close range by a deputy). After this incident, he became increasingly fearful of police officers.
When Malik was asked if he had been treated (for PTSD) through counseling after the Sierra County shooting, he stated he had not. He claimed that he could have been, had he explained to the Veterans Hospital about his PTSD, but given his past (Malik attempted suicide more than once), he was afraid he would be admitted to the psych ward and would not be released for a long period of time.
Malik was then asked several questions about what led up to the October 15, 2014, incident. Malik testified that he first met the alleged victim when his vehicle ran out of gas in West Sacramento, near West Capital Ave.
Malik saw an individual walking nearby, and he asked if he could borrow a gas can. Malik was then led to a residence where the alleged victim was present. Malik stated that everyone at the residence was cordial and, due to a birthday being celebrated (at the residence), he hung around for awhile.
However, when he overheard another individual (a friend of the alleged victim) claim she had stolen approximately $80,000 from an older woman that Malik was familiar with, he became visibly upset.
Malik then expressed his feelings toward the individual(s) and left the residence. This would ultimately be what set in motion the events that led up to October 15, 2014.
Court was then excused for afternoon break. Judge Richardson asked that the jury return at 1:15pm.
Afternoon Session
The trial of Adam Malik resumed on the afternoon of June 10, 2015, at the Yolo County Superior Courthouse. Mr. Malik had taken the witness stand in the morning, despite previous declarations that he would exercise his right to remain silent, and he resumed his testimony in the afternoon. The defendant was hesitant to expose himself to cross-examination from Deputy District Attorney Jennifer McHugh. He believed that he would find himself unable to remain calm and that it would impress upon the jury that he was “an a—hole.” Ultimately, he elected to take the stand to explain and defend his side of the incidents under discussion. Mr. Malik’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Richard Van Zandt, sat in a chair a few feet away from the defendant throughout his testimony.
Prior to taking the stand, it was established that Mr. Malik’s PTSD was rooted in two events – his military service in Iraq and the officer shooting in Sierra County. DDA McHugh first questioned the defendant about his time in Iraq to establish whether he had, indeed, suffered in response to traumatic events.
Several incidents were discussed. Mr. Malik suffered a minor shrapnel injury that did not warrant the awarding of a Purple Heart. He did not require hospitalization or treatment of any kind, but felt that it was a traumatic experience. The defendant also spoke of coming upon a young girl running after her dead mother in the outskirts of Baghdad. Mr. Malik recalled that the girl was injured, but not fatally so. When DDA McHugh asked if this sight was traumatic, he snapped, “I don’t know. You seem to be a doctor so, was it a traumatic event?” This was the first of several hostile comments made to the prosecutor.
Mr. Malik’s history of criminal and violent behavior was also discussed. When the defendant was just seventeen years old he joined the United States Air Force. After a short time, Mr. Malik realized that the Air Force was not for him. He was unhappy there and ended up punching a man, causing him to get an early discharge. On another occasion, Mr. Malik’s VA doctor claimed that he was threatened by the defendant after he refused to lie about an office visit and provide compensation for it. Mr. Malik claimed that he was joking with the doctor and told the prosecutor that he remembered the phone conversation very well. DDA McHugh then questioned how he could remember this event so well, but could not remember the specifics of the aforementioned traumatic events. No explanation was given.
In 2003, Mr. Malik broke a bartender’s jaw and claimed self-defense. In 2012, he punched a bartender in the face. He claimed self-defense again, stating, “I warned him not to touch me and he did.” The bartender was making jokes about Marines, and so he and two fellow Marines beat the bartender until he was knocked unconscious. In 2008, Mr. Malik ran from Davis police and attempted to head-butt one of the officers while yelling, “F—ing Taser me, you f—ing pigs!” In 2006, the defendant allegedly threatened his wife with a gun, threw her to the ground, and said that he would kill any officers if they came to help her.
Mr. Malik claimed that all of these people deserved the treatment that they received from him and that much of what they said was false. He claimed that he never attempted to head-butt an officer and that the Davis officers were lying. The same was said of his ex-wife and the instance of domestic violence. Mr. Malik told the court that the ex-wife had been drinking and was pregnant with their son. She then wanted to drive his new truck which he refused to allow. Mr. Malik was visibly irritated that his ex-wife was brought up and, while explaining his version of events, he interrupted DDA McHugh as she attempted to ask follow-up questions, saying, “Hold on, there’s more. I’ll help you do your job.” The defendant also said of his ex-wife to the prosecutor, “Other than you, she is the only person I know who can make up so much bull—t.” According to his ex-wife, there were twenty-five incidents of domestic violence, of which Mr. Malik admitted to two.
In 2010, Mr. Malik was caught buying Vicodin from a drug dealer. The defendant told the court that he had a prescription for the drug and that he did not buy the medication from a drug dealer. The woman who sold him the Vicodin told officers that she did so. Mr. Malik then admitted that this was the case and that he had lied about this incident when he was asked about it several questions prior. It was also revealed that the defendant had lied again on the stand when he had stated that there had been no domestic violence between himself and his ex-wife after he admitted to two violent interactions. Mr. Malik also confessed that he had lied at least a dozen times to the VA and told them that he had lost his medications so that he could get more Vicodin and Xanax.
On October 15, 2014, the day of this case’s incident, Mr. Malik had ingested four or five Xanax and six to eight Vicodin. He went to the alleged victim’s trailer after dark, wearing dark clothing. This clothing was later thrown away or soaked. Mr. Malik also had an army range knife in the waistband of his pants. The defendant had walked two blocks to get to the trailer and when he arrived, the alleged victim was attempting to enter a high bedroom window. Mr. Malik believed that the alleged victim possessed either a bat or a two-by-four with nails sticking out of it.
The alleged victim stepped down off of a ladder. He was gripping an object and speaking in Spanish. These two things appeared threatening and so Mr. Malik decided to grab the alleged victim’s arm and put his knife to the man’s throat, telling him to put the object down. The knife cut through several layers of skin. However, the defendant claimed that he did not intend this. He only meant to show the man that he was serious.
The man appeared to be cooperative and so Mr. Malik let go of him and began to walk away. Soon after, the man grabbed a knife and so the defendant stuck his knife into the man’s shoulder. He told the court that witnesses, saying that he chased the man around a car, were lying. After stabbing the man’s shoulder he ran away, for fear of getting into legal trouble. When asked if the alleged victim had been seriously injured Mr. Malik responded, “I hope he isn’t that injured because it would be worse for me.” He also told the court that he believed the man deserved the injuries that he sustained.
Court was adjourned for the day and was set to resume on the morning of June 11, 2015. The trial will likely come to a close by Friday, June 12.
