By Christopher Datu
WOODLAND, CA – An alleged spider bite, a concealed dirk and dagger and a stolen Toyota Prius key fob could be the makings of a parlor game, but they are all related to a Yolo County Superior Court preliminary hearing held Monday,
Kristopher Fanning, the defendant, is charged with first degree burglary and concealing a dirk and dagger on his person. He claimed he’s an acquaintance of the victims, and was invited into their house to clean an alleged spider bite.
But he was later caught allegedly stuffing electronics into a bag when another one of the residents returned home.
Deputy District Attorney Shaw called one of the first responding officers to the stand, Christina Giannone, who said she recalled that around 2:45 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2019, in Davis, Ca, she responded to a possible burglary in the J Street area.
When she arrived on the scene, she spoke to one of the three victims who all resided at the house. According to the victim, Fanning was only an acquaintance who “had been there for some time cleaning a spider bite” when the victim, having to leave the house, asked Fanning to leave as well.
The victim told Giannone that when he returned home, “he observed that his back window, that did not have a lock on it, was removed from the frame with a chair pushed up to it.”
Giannone was then told that the victim reached out to another of the house residents, who had found “Fanning putting electronics in a bag of theirs.”
The second victim came home between the time when the first victim left and returned, to stumble upon Fanning allegedly stealing electronics from her room. While she contacted her housemates, Fanning “informed her that he was trying to protect them from a tweaker who was going to steal their electronics.”
Giannone also relayed that the second victim asked Fanning to leave several times, though he “kept stating that he had a reason to be there and kept making excuses as to why he could be in their home.”
On cross-examination, Fanning’s defense attorney questioned Giannone about Fanning’s response to being caught. Geckie asked about the context behind his response with Giannone recalling that the second victim characterized her quick interaction with Fanning as “repeating his reason constantly and erratically.”
Shaw then brought out Officer Chris Pinion as the officer who apprehended Fanning shortly after the police were called.
Pinion recalled responding to the Dec. 19 burglary call when he spotted someone who fit the “description” and “within a block or two and walking away from the residence,” and noticed “he was carrying a bundle of clothes.” Pinion and his partner conducted a search to find a “3 inch long dirk in the bundle of clothes and a key fob.”
Pinion said when he asked the defendant about why he was at the residence, Fanning stated “after smoking a cigarette, he asked to go inside to clean a spider bite.”
When asked if he noticed any indication of a spider bite, Pinion recalled “a rash on the hand with an open abscess.”
DDA Shaw then trotted out Officer Richard Squibbs, the final witness, as the person responsible for the assisted infield show-up. Squibbs described the assisted infield show-up as “moving the victims from the site where the suspect was apprehended back to the J Street location.”
When recalling the reactions of the first victim being brought to the suspect, Squibbs noted that the first victim “recognized his haircut, his facial hair, and his ASICS running shoes.” The second victim reportedly recognized “his pants, facial hair, and haircut” as well.
Judge David Rosenberg found there was sufficient evidence to move forward with the first degree burglary felony and concealing dirk and dagger on person felony charges.
A bail hearing is set for June 24 with Rosenberg requesting a supervised OR report done before then.
Christopher Datu is a 4th year Political Science major at UC Davis. He is originally from Corona, California.
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