By Josue Monroy and Madison Forwood
SACRAMENTO – A preliminary hearing began here in Sacramento County Superior Court last week in the murder case of Hubert Calimee, a Sacramento man gunned down outside a Ramada Inn on New Year’s Day 2020.
Daquan Jackson, 25, Alizey Whitfield, 23, and Robert Massingale, 24, were arrested for their alleged involvement in the shooting; all three have been charged with premediated murder and assault with a semi-automatic weapon. Whitfield faces the additional charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The defendants were present and in custody in front of Judge Shelleyanne Chang, and the defense lawyers for Whitfield and Massingale were present in the courtroom as well. Jackson’s attorney, Michelle Trigger, was present via Zoom for the proceedings. Whitfield is represented by defense attorney Martin Tejeda, while Massingale’s attorney is Amy Rogers.
Deputy District Attorney Kristen Anderson represented the People in this matter and had prepared a detailed case involving multiple witness testimony from law enforcement officers that had either responded to the scene of the crime, or were involved in the subsequent investigation.
Before proceedings began, Judge Chang acknowledged the defense’s objection to having the prosecution’s witness testimonies streamed through Zoom instead of having the individuals physically present in court. The argument was submitted by Rogers, who seemed wary of possible testimony contamination if the officers were testifying remotely from the same location.
Judge Chang felt it was appropriate for the witnesses to appear remotely in light of the ongoing pandemic.
“Balancing the right of the defendant and the public interest, [and]due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the court has decided to not have witnesses testify [in-person]. Defendants’ objections are overruled,” said Chang, striking down the objection.
However, the judge did address Rogers’ concern regarding testimony.
“Are the witnesses together?” she asked the DDA.
When Anderson confirmed that they were in the same building but separate rooms, Judge Chang reiterated that the witnesses do not communicate with each other during the hearing.
“Deputies are ordered not to discuss the testimony amongst each other,” she affirmed.
DDA Anderson first called Sacramento County Sheriff’s Deputy Silver Paley to the stand. Paley was the first responding officer at the scene.
Paley testified that he responded to a call involving a shooting at the Ramada Inn in the Arden-Arcade area of Sacramento on Jan. 1. At about 1:07 a.m., he arrived upon a chaotic scene in the parking lot of the hotel, with multiple cars and pedestrians leaving the premises in a frenzy. He was able to locate the victim, Calimee, after being directed by individuals at the scene. Calimee was lying in the parking lot on his back with gunshot wounds to the head and chest, while two bystanders were attempting CPR.
Deputy Paley then took over the life-saving measures until a medical unit arrived. The victim was transported to UC Davis Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries later that morning.
At the scene, Paley stated that he located what were determined to be two types of bullet shell casings, 9mm and 40 caliber, which indicated there had been two different weapons used in the shooting. At about that time, Paley had gotten word over dispatch that a possible second victim had arrived with gunshot wounds at Kaiser North Medical Center.
During Counsel Tejeda’s cross-examination, he asked Deputy Paley about the surveillance video from the Ramada Inn that was obtained by officers.
“Based on the video clarity, angle, and distance, were you able to identify the height and skin color of the suspects?” asked Tejeda
“No, it was a black and white video, “responded Paley
“Based on the video, were you able to locate the suspects next to where the [shell] casings were located?”
“No,” answered Paley, who also divulged that he had not indicated which casings were found where in his official report.
Next, DDA Anderson called Sacramento County Sheriff’s Deputy Mario Mendez, who had responded to the call of a possible second victim seeking medical treatment at Kaiser North. After making contact with the individual, Mendez confirmed that the victim was at the Ramada Inn earlier that night and was injured during the shooting.
Deputy Mendez recounted the statement he obtained from the second victim, who had been grazed by the gunfire but was not seriously injured. The victim said he was a friend of Calimee, and had also been at the New Year’s Eve event at the hotel.
According to the statement, he had arrived at the location before just before 1 a.m. and was drinking in the parking lot when he recognized Calimee and approached the group he was with. Although they were involved with rival gangs, they had maintained a friendship, according to the victim.
Calimee informed him that there was about to be some “funk” (problem), and this made him uneasy. Shortly after, he observed a dark sedan enter the parking lot with its headlights off and stop just inside the lot.
Moments later, he heard gunshots and turned to see an individual dressed in dark clothing standing by a white car shooting in the direction of where Calimee had been. The victim then said he rushed over and pushed Calimee out of the way and onto the ground, getting hit in the process. He stated that the deceased had been shot in the chest while he was pushing him away.
Immediately after, he noticed he had been injured and fled, eventually finding a ride to the hospital from someone in the vicinity. He insisted that the shooting seemed personal because the gunfire continued after Calimee had been hit. He refused to cooperate with the investigation any further.
After the testimony by Deputy Mendez, DDA Anderson called Detective John Rodriguez of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau to the stand.
Detective Rodriguez was tasked with investigating the murder of Hubert Calimee, and had zeroed in on the three defendants as suspects in the case. While not made clear during the hearing, it appeared investigators used video surveillance from the crime scene and surrounding businesses to help identify the group as suspects in the shooting.
Detective Rodriguez testified that he had contacted and arrested Whitfield on Jan. 23 in connection to the crime. He also stated that he had contacted and interviewed Jackson’s ex-girlfriend, who was allegedly with the three men on the night of the incident.
According to Rodriguez, Whitfield confirmed that he was present at the Ramada Inn on New Year’s Eve, and had arrived there with his brother, defendant Massingale. Whitfield said that they had been in the parking lot drinking by Massingale’s red truck. He claimed they were there alone, that Jackson had not been present with them, and that they fled the scene when gunfire erupted.
Jackson’s ex-girlfriend contradicted Whitfield’s account during her interview, according to Rodriguez, and alleged that they had all convened at the Ramada Inn that night, including Jackson.
Surveillance footage stills that were presented as evidence by the prosecution appear to show the group at a liquor store shortly before midnight, and clearly showed what the individuals were wearing. An individual alleged to be Whitfield is seen wearing a bright red puffy jacket.
The witness also stated that while the group was inside the party dancing, both Whitfield and Massingale approached Jackson and whispered something to him. Immediately after, they began to walk outside to the parking lot, when a firearm allegedly fell out of Jackson’s pocket. Shortly after is when the shooting happened, according to her testimony.
At that point, the witness claimed that she fled the scene, but had not found Jackson in the chaos.
However, sometime later she said she was contacted by him and he told her, she added, to “shut the f*** up,” although it is not clear what he was referring to. The group, she said, eventually met up around 3 a.m., and Jackson and the others left for the night together. The witness also did not state that Massingale or Whitfield had a gun that night.
The second portion of the preliminary hearing was mainly focused on a crime scene investigative portion where both the defense and prosecution inquired into the routine processes of the homicide investigation. They sought specific, technical information as to the gathering of evidence such as bullet casings, forensics, and establishing law enforcement presence at the scene.
Through crime scene investigator testimony, it was affirmed that there were full crime scene photographs taken, including overhead footage of the scene. Also, about 35 bullet casings were collected in the parking lot of the Ramada Inn.
Further testimony unfolded that crime scene investigators had found clothing items of evidentiary value including a red down jacket, white V-neck t-shirt, and a headband. These items were found at the private residence of one of the defendants. The clothing items were thought to have gunshot residue.
The investigator stated that clothing was ‘messily’ scattered around the room, and as far as he could tell all the clothing was for males. It was notable that the crime scene investigator provided testimony that he didn’t take inventory of the room but rather only the items he was told to focus on by the detectives.
Forensic testimony of the cars seemed brief, with the crime scene investigator testifying he and his partner “checked just about every vehicle in the parking lot.” The crime scene investigator admitted that he was not assured when he arrived on the scene that none of the bullets, or casing evidence had been undisturbed due to the high volume to people at the sight.
The preliminary hearing testimony resumes this week.
Josue Monroy is a 4th year International Relations major at UC Davis. Hailing from Santa Cruz, CA, his interests include Latin American literature 
and politics, as well as playing music in his spare time
Madison Foreood is a fourth year poli sci and history student at UC DAVIS. Her hobbies include reading and taking care of her German Shepard
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