By Sally Kim
WOODLAND — Defendant Tyler Webster’s $25,000 bail jumped seven times to $175,000 here in Yolo County Superior Court last week on now multiple open cases, and the deputy district attorney was demanding to know who paid his previous bail.
Webster’s grandfather turned out to be the source of bail, but before getting to the issue of bail, Judge Tom Dyer addressed the criminal protective order that was issued on Jan. 5 on behalf of an alleged domestic violence victim.
Private defense attorney James Granucci noted he was out of town when Webster was arraigned and requested the no contact order be stricken or modified to a no-harassment order as those were the wishes of the alleged victim.
The victim was present in court and was able to confirm that she did not want a no-contact order because she wanted to continue to see him. She added that “I don’t even want a no-harassment order; I just want it to go back to normal.”
Deputy District Attorney Robin Johnson requested that the court still issue a no-harassment contact because it doesn’t restrict the defendant from seeing her or doing anything other than harassing the victim.
She explained that there were two incidents, one where Webster threatened to kill the victim and the other where he actually hit her, so there is concern for her safety even if the victim is not 
concerned.
Granucci and his client agreed to meet in the middle and the court issued a no-harassment order.
The main focus of the hearing, however, was the amount of bail and where the bail is coming from.
Johnson continued, noting the defendant now has three open possession of drugs for sale cases and in the new matter he was found with “69.4 g of methamphetamine, several digital scales, $1800 in cash, two safes.”
Johnson stated that Webster has told parole that he doesn’t have a job but whenever he is found with these large amounts of methamphetamine, he is found with large amounts of money. Thus, she believes he is required to show where his bail is coming from.
She stated that “he is obviously dealing drugs,” because there are the three open cases in less than a year where the defendant is found with multiple ounces of meth and large amounts of money.
Now, there is a new case with allegations of domestic violence and threats. Johnson was asking for a raise of $75,000 for the new case and $50,000 each for the two other felonies, which is $175,000 in total.
Granucci did not take this well, arguing he did not think the court should deviate at all, as Webster already posted bail for $25,000 and increasing it now would not be lawful. Further, he shouldn’t even have to show the source of bail because it isn’t lawful.
He said he doesn’t see the defendant as a big dealer because, the defense attorney explained, he was not found with enough drugs for a street dealer and he didn’t have that much cash.
Thus, Granucci believes the defendant is not a danger to society and noted that the alleged domestic violence victim even wanted to stay in contact with the defendant. He asked to keep the bail as is.
DDA Johnson smiled, completely disagreeing and charging that she believes Webster is a public safety risk and that the bail should definitely be increased. She said he is a repeat drug dealer and has not stopped dealing drugs, dating back to 2015 when he went to prison for possession and sale.
She asserted that “even bailing out and having cases pending doesn’t stop his behavior.”
Judge Dyer agreed, and raised the bail to $175,000.
As to the source of bail, the defendant’s grandfather Robert Webster was present in court to confirm where the money for the previous bail came from and where future payments will come from as well.
Robert Webster is 82 years old and was a professor at UC Davis, has never been arrested or charged with a crime. He said that he paid the premium for the bail bond with his credit card.
Johnson asked if this was the first time that he has paid for his grandson’s bail and he said it was the first time in years. When he did it before, Webster did not repay him and he doesn’t plan to do so now. Robert Webster stated that, despite this, he would be willing to pay for the raised bail if he sees proper paperwork.
DDA Johnson then asked for Webster to be remanded until the arrangements for bail are made.
Granucci claimed that he wasn’t aware of the new case until just an hour before court and hasn’t had enough time to arrange the new bail, and asked that bail be posted between now and the next court date.
Johnson clarified that she is asking for Webster to be remanded immediately. Granucci again requested more time to “get our ducks in order” and if all arrangements have not been sorted by then, Webster can be remanded.
All sides agreed and the court will meet again on Jan. 14, in Dept. 7.
Sally Kim is a senior at UCLA, majoring in Sociology. She is from the East Bay Area.
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