By Lauren Smith
WOODLAND – Despite stating that there is a lack of evidence necessary for a jury to convict defendant Victoria Vallerga, Judge David Rosenberg allowed felony charges of vandalism and assault with a deadly weapon to remain here Tuesday afternoon in Yolo County Superior Court.
Defendant Vallerga heard two Woodland Police Department officers testify at her preliminary hearing.
In her felony vandalism case, Officer Alma Rosas testified that on Sept. 5 she responded to a dispatch call for a vandalism report. When she arrived on the scene, she contacted the reporting party, the defendant’s roommate.
According to Officer Rosas, the roommate stated that the defendant was “bipolar” and had vandalized his vehicle. He further “mentioned” to the officer that there was “trash all over his vehicle,” and he believed Vallerga had broken the front windshield of his car with kitchen utensils.
When Officer Rosas looked at the vehicle damage, she noticed that “there was trash all over the front windshield, the front windshield was broken, the rear headlights of the vehicle were broken, and there were multiple dents on the hood of the vehicle.”
In her testimony, Rosas stated that the roommate did not see the vandalism occur, but he mentioned that the damage “wasn’t previously there.”
The roommate estimated the damage to his vehicle to be approximately $4,000.
When Officer Rosas asked the defendant about the vandalism, she stated that she “was keeping the car for collateral” and that the roommate had not paid his rent. Vallerga also stated to the officer that she did not know what she used to break the windshield.
Under cross-examination, Deputy Public Defender Monica Brushia questioned Officer Rosas about her first contact with the defendant. The officer said she saw Vallerga “lying on the floor…screaming ‘it was somebody else.’”
After cross, DPD Brushia noted that her client “was not medicated at the time” of the incident and made statements to Officer Rosas that “it was somebody else.” Due to these reasons, Brushia argued that the felony vandalism charge should become “a misdemeanor at most.”
However, Deputy District Attorney Jesse Richardson countered that, due to the $4,000 worth of vehicle damage, it placed the vandalism charge “squarely within felony territory.”
In his ruling, Judge Rosenberg stated that, due to the amount of vehicle damage, there is “little question” that the charge is in felony territory; however, he also stated that “the evidence is pretty sparse.”
The evidence is “sufficient” for a preliminary hearing, Judge Rosenberg continued, because the bar is so low; but he shared doubts that a “jury would find sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Vallerga committed this act.”
In the defendant’s remaining charges—assault with a deadly weapon and two charges of battery on two paramedics—Woodland Police Department Officer Joseph Nott testified that on June 8, 2020, he was dispatched for a “lights and sirens response” to “an individual assaulting” two paramedics.
Upon arriving at the scene, Officer Nott observed Woodland Fire Department personnel attempting to restrain an adult female.
Officer Nott testified that Vallerga “prevented” him from detainment because she had “pulled her left hand away” from him. After successfully detaining the defendant, Officer Nott spoke to two paramedics who stated that they received a dispatch call “for a female who had fallen down.”
One paramedic stated that when they arrived in scene, they located the defendant and asked her if she needed assistance. When the defendant responded yes, one paramedic turned her back to face the ambulance.
The defendant responded by pushing the paramedic from behind. The paramedic then did a “leg sweep” forcing the defendant to the ground. The defendant then grabbed a “sharpened stick” and attempted to stab one of the paramedics.
A struggle ensued in which Vallerga punched and kicked the paramedics as they wrestled to get the “sharpened stick” away from her. The paramedics indicated that they each were punched and kicked three to four times but did not suffer any injuries.
Officer Nott further testified that, despite the stick having balloons attached to one end and it being ¼ inch in diameter, he believed the stick could cause “great bodily injury or death” when used with enough force and aimed in the right direction.
When Officer Nott placed the defendant in the patrol vehicle, he charged that she “tried taking off her pants…tried kicking at me…it looked like she was going to spit at or on me.” He further stated that because of the “erratic” way the defendant was acting, he placed her in a “wrap restraint device for her safety.”
During cross-examination, DPD Brushia emphasized that neither paramedic was injured, and that the defendant was “grinding her teeth, sweating profusely, acting erratically, and jerking her body.”
Brushia argued that this was “a crime of opportunity” and that the “sharpened stick” was not something her client possessed previously to the altercation with the paramedics. She added that the “push” is a misdemeanor and due to the “relatively small” stick, assault with a deadly weapon “is a stretch.”
DDA Richardson countered that, even though the stick was thin, “it still is a stabbing weapon. It is an improvised stabbing weapon, but it is a stabbing weapon just the same.”
Judge Rosenberg ruled that “even a pencil that’s sharp could be a deadly or dangerous weapon and could be the basis of such an assault charge.” He acknowledged the “stick seems to be thin” but that there is “sufficient evidence” to hold the defendant on the remaining charges.
Brushia immediately declared “doubt,” causing Judge Rosenberg to ask the court clerk to notify the court’s psychiatrist to examine the defendant and report the results to the court.
All criminal proceedings were suspended and will resume when the results of the examination are available to the court and counsel.
To sign up for our new newsletter – Everyday Injustice – https://tinyurl.com/yyultcf9
Support our work – to become a sustaining at $5 – $10- $25 per month hit the link:
