By Novpreet Shoker
This past Wednesday morning two different law enforcement officials testified in the jury trial for Ricky Hernandez and Joshua Cadenaz-Lopez, who are both facing charges of 2nd degree robbery, as well as enhancements including the use of a firearm, attempted assault, and being involved in criminal street gang activity.
Resuming from Tuesday afternoon, Deputy District Attorney Kyle Hasapes displayed footage taken of the initial interview with the codefendants upon their arrest, after officers found various illicit items in their vehicle.
While in the interview room, Hernandez can be heard saying, “We should’ve ran,” and conveying further apprehension due to having illicit items in his pocket, which the officers had yet to search.
Cadenaz-Lopez can be seen swaying slightly side to side, and then slouching over on the table indicating he had fallen asleep.
Once the officers entered the interview room, they proceeded to arrest the codefendants as well as another offender. Then they searched the men’s pockets and patted them down.
The officers then asked the men about their tattoos, and took pictures of them.
Throughout this footage, the codefendants can be seen and heard disrespecting the officers by cursing and saying other things.
Later on, the footage shows a detective coming in to interview Cadenaz-Lopez alone. This detective was Investigator David Stallions, now from Placer County, the first witness of the morning.
Investigator Stallions explained that he worked for the West Sacramento Police Department as a detective, and was the on-call detective the day the codefendants were brought in.
In the footage, Investigator Stallions read Cadenaz-Lopez his Miranda rights and explained that this was his chance to explain his side of the story.
Cadenaz-Lopez began to deny the robberies immediately, while repeatedly saying, “I work for my money.”
He went on to claim that he did not know about any guns or robberies, and that he smokes a lot of marijuana which impairs his memory.
When the investigator pushed on about the robbery charges, Cadenaz-Lopez prematurely mentioned that he did not rob a store. The investigator pointed out that he did not mention it was a store that was robbed.
At this point, Cadenaz-Lopez stopped cooperating and began cursing at the officer. He continued about how he’d been “caught in the wrong place, wrong time.”
He did, however, take responsibility for all the marijuana found in the vehicle, repeating that he smokes a lot of marijuana.
As for his whereabouts during the robberies, Cadenaz-Lopez claimed to have been home asleep after being heavily intoxicated. When Investigator Stallions told him that this was his last chance, Cadenaz-Lopez shrugged and said, “We’re just ridin’ it out.”
Some time later, Investigator Stallions is seen interviewing Hernandez. After reading him his rights, Investigator Stallions explained to Hernandez that they were being arrested for not only the handguns, marijuana, and other illicit items found in their car, but also for the robberies that those items had been connected to.
Hernandez also immediately denied being connected to the crimes, and the investigator explained that one of the other men arrested will eventually break under pressure, and “someone’s gonna get f—ed, that’s just the way it works.”
Hernandez agreed but then, after a pause, leaned toward Investigator Stallions, only to say, “Take me to jail.”
Investigator Stallions wished Hernandez luck, and ended the interview.
This brought the footage to an end. DDA Hasapes asked Investigator Stallions some clarifying questions about the case.
First, Mr. Hasapes asked if Stallions ever specifically mentioned a store getting robbed, to which he answered no. Then Hasapes asked if there was anything else the investigator did besides conduct the initial interviews.
Investigator Stallions explained that he also obtained a search warrant for the two codefendants, as well as three other persons of interest. He went on to say that he also carried out the warrant, by swabbing the men for their DNA.
Jem Martin, the defense attorney for Cadenaz-Lopez, began his cross-examination of Investigator Stallions by asking him if he was the lead investigator on the case. The witness explained that he was there initially because he was the on-call investigator, but that it was eventually turned over to Sergeant Jason Winger, who was more familiar with the gang.
Mr. Martin then changed direction by asking the witness if he believed Cadenaz-Lopez was heavily under the influence during their initial interview. Investigator Stallions agreed.
Mr. Martin changed direction yet again by diving into the alibi that Cadenaz-Lopez provided during the interview. Cadenaz-Lopez claimed to have been asleep at his mother’s house, and explained that his ex-stepfather would be able to corroborate that information.
Mr. Martin asked the witness if he followed up on that information by contacting the ex-stepfather. Investigator Stallions admitted that he visited the residence only once, and, upon seeing no one was home, did not return a second time.
When asked for an explanation as to why no one followed up with the ex-stepfather, Investigator Stallions said that the case had become “more of an SIU deal,” indicating that the case was under the Special Investigations Unit.
Mr. Martin began to ask about the witness’s transfer of work from West Sacramento to working for the DA’s office in Placer County as an investigator, and if that process began sometime before October in 2016.
Mr. Hasapes objected to the relevance of Mr. Martin’s questioning, but once Judge David Rosenberg allowed it, the witness answered that the process started after October.
Mr. Martin then asked if the investigator knew that another person of interest in the case had been pictured wearing the same neon gloves that Cadenaz-Lopez is believed to have been wearing during the robberies. Stallions said he did not remember.
Investigator Stallions was then asked why no official investigated Cadenaz-Lopez’s residence. He answered that the SIU did, but he was not involved in that.
Mr. Martin questioned the witness about the alibi information again, and asked if Investigator Stallions passed the information provided by Cadenaz-Lopez onto Sergeant Winger. The witness said no.
When Mr. Martin asked why not, the witness explained that the information did not seem substantial and that, if it was, Sgt. Winger would have learned about it from watching the interview footage. When asked if he was 100 percent sure that Sgt. Winger watched the footage, the witness said that he does not absolutely know for sure.
Deputy Public Defender Lisa Lance began her cross-examination by asking the witness if he carried out the search warrant for the other three persons of interest. The witness confirmed that he did.
When asked if he was sure, the investigator remained adamant.
During redirect, DDA Hasapes asked the witness if the ex-stepfather of Cadenaz-Lopez reached out to the police department during this case at any time. The witness answered in the negative.
Investigator Stallions was then excused, but is subject to recall.
The second witness called in was Detective Anthony Herrera.
DDA Hasapes began by asking the detective about his role in this case.
The witness explained that he has worked as a detective for the SIU in West Sacramento, focusing mostly on prostitution, gangs, and narcotics.
DDA Hasapes then presented surveillance footage from an apartment complex where the codefendants could be seen switching vehicles after the robberies.
As the witness began to explain what occurred that day, Judge Rosenberg adjourned the testimony for the day.
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