By Rafiya Naqvi
SACRAMENTO – This wasn’t exactly a bank robbery—in fact, it wasn’t much of any robbery at all.
In early May, an employee at an insurance company in Rocklin witnessed a peculiar theft—men jumping a fence and running off with two umbrellas.
According to that witness testimony and camera footage, the two men hurdled the fence and snatched two large industrial-sized umbrellas from the patio of an Out of Bounds Brewery and drove off in a red Dodge pick-up truck.
Michael Klegg, charged with three counts of robbery, was identified as the man responsible for removing the umbrellas from the brewery’s patio, at a preliminary hearing this week held in Sacramento County Superior Court and heard over Zoom live stream.
During the hearing, the court heard testimonies from Folsom Police Officers Sergy Litvinov and Roman Kehm, who were involved in investigating this case. Officer Litvinov revealed that the business 
owner estimated the umbrellas to be worth $2,000 each due to their “heavy base” and their “electrical wiring.”
During his questioning from Deputy District Attorney Nikita Skokov, Officer Kehm explained that he was responsible for locating the defendant and his accomplice after the incident was reported. In doing so, Kehm stated that he discovered the getaway vehicle and its driver, Verner Williams.
Williams was reported to have told the officer that he knew where the umbrellas were located and he was able to take the officer to retrieve one of the umbrellas that were in his custody and which was kept in a storage yard.
Williams reportedly disclosed to the officer that Klegg’s motivation for stealing the umbrellas was to help him out by getting him an umbrella for the snow cone stand Williams ran. In exchange for Williams’ cooperation with the police, he was released from custody after this visit with no charges.
Klegg, in contrast, was discovered with narcotics in a Ziploc bag in his front right pocket when officer Kehm arrived at a residence to procure the second umbrella. The officers were eventually able to recover the second umbrella from Klegg.
Assistant Public Defender Courtney Zane noted the officer, though he claimed to have found methamphetamine inside of the bag, did not run a narcotics test on site to confirm this.
Zane also argued to the court that there was not sufficient evidence to determine the actual value of the umbrella, with which Superior Court Judge Kevin McCormick seemingly agreed.
The defense also insisted there was no information provided regarding when these umbrellas were purchased and what exact condition they were in before the robbery occurred, suggesting they could be worth significantly less than $4,000.
DDA Skokov responded to this by stating that he felt the business owner had the most expertise in determining the price of the umbrellas since he purchased them, and that his claim that they were worth $4,000 in total was a reliable one.
Skokov reminded the court that the officer has received extensive training in identifying methamphetamine as a police officer for more than a decade, and that the defendant had been previously convicted for carrying narcotics.
Other areas of disagreement between the defense and the prosecution included the nature of the looting and whether or not the crime fit into this traditional definition of what is considered “looting.”
Additionally, the defense argued that punishing the defendant while his partner in executing the crime was free of any charges was unjust.
Assistant PD Zane also spoke of Klegg’s financial hardships due to Covid-19, stating that he was unemployed, on disability, and that he was caring for a 60-year-old woman he has known since his childhood by doing her dishes, mowing the lawn and other household tasks.
Judge McCormick, however, felt that the defendant’s financial troubles may be a consequence of his “methamphetamine habit.”
DA Skokov also pointed to the fact that the defendant stole from the brewery during a very vulnerable time for them due to the pandemic.
Zane argued that stealing was out of character for the defendant, as he was reported to have told the police that it was “stupid” and that he didn’t “normally steal things.” She used his criminal record as evidence to show that he had a “fairly recent minimal criminal record” and that “most of his history involves DUIs and domestic violence and few incidents of theft.”
Ultimately, Judge McCormick indicated that, although he was originally willing to give the defendant a minimal 180 days of county work project and probation, he no longer could grant him a 17(b), a felony reduced to a misdemeanor.
Despite the defendant’s attempts to interject on a few occasions against legal advice, the judge reminded Klegg that the live stream was being posted on YouTube and advised him against “discussing particulars of the case” that might further incriminate him.
Shortly after, the hearing was concluded with the defendant pleading not guilty and further court proceedings being scheduled for early December.
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