By Alexander Ramirez
WOODLAND, CA. – Yesenia Yolanda Deltoro was in Yolo County Superior Court, Dept. 8 Friday on felony resisting charges after a vandalism incident was reported by multiple witnesses that she repeatedly denied, and it was later found she was right.
But her charges morphed into more serious resisting charges at the scene of the alleged vandalism.
While the vandalism incident was a main focal point of her time in court, the actual charges that the court was addressing was obstructing or resisting executive officer, and the previously mentioned resisting or obstructing a public officer. The first charge is a felony, while the second is a misdemeanor.
The narrative for this incident began with Deputy District Attorney Amanda Zambor’s first witness, Officer Joseph Nott; a Woodland police officer that responded to the vandalism incident on Aug. 4 at the Econo Lodge.
Per Officer Nott’s statement, it was reported a female adult vandalizing on the property. A profile of the female was also given, which described her as a female wearing a red and black shirt with white pants and a backpack. Upon arriving on the scene, Nott came into contact with a female matching this description.
After Nott asked her to stop because of her matching description to the person in his report, Deltoro refused and continue to walk away from him, even after being told numerous times she was not able to leave. It was at this point that Nott requested another unit on the scene.
During this confrontation, Deltoro was apparently screaming at Nott while repeatedly denying having vandalized anything.
Another unit shortly arrived on the scene and Deltoro was told to sit down, to which she refused and entered the lanes of Main Street. According to Nott, he and the accompanying unit held her arms to prevent her from entering oncoming traffic and she sat down in the middle of the lane.
Even with Deltoro allegedly struggling the entire time, she was detained and put in the back of Nott’s patrol car where he could see her repeatedly bashing her head. This prompted Nott to place her in a restraining device.
Nott later found out Deltoro had a warrant for her arrest from a separate police department.
Deputy Public Defender Teal Dixon’s cross-examination, it became known to the court that in the subsequent investigation of this incident, there had been no vandalism committed at the Econo Lodge.
Officer David Shepard is also an officer of the Woodland PD and assisted in the arrest of Deltoro. Shepard’s description of the event matched Nott’s in the sense that he heard Nott repeatedly telling Deltoro to stop and also the part where Deltoro was said to have been in the middle of a traffic lane.
Shepard also added that while Deltoro was on the ground, he noticed a lit cigarette in her hand to which he tried to remove before she kicked his left shin. In response, Shepard said that he placed his foot on her foot to prevent the kicking from happening, but she still continued to do so.
Interestingly, Shepard also added that while he and Nott were arresting Deltoro, she repeatedly told the officers by name that she wanted them dead.
“I want you both dead. You’re going to die mother*******. I promise you that sh**, b****. You Shepard and what’s name,” Shepard relayed in court.
Zambor called her final witness for this court case, a Woodland police officer who investigated the vandalism incident; Officer Black.
During his account, Officer Evan Black told the court that he came into contact with the manager of the Econo Lodge regarding what had happened before the officers arrived.
According to Black, he was told by the manager that there was a female being loud in the parking lot of the Econo Lodge, and so the manager told her to leave. In response, the female cussed at her and left, but not before the female tried to kick a parked motorcycle.
When the manager checked the surveillance cameras around the Lodge, apparently they noticed the female grab a piece of plywood from a surrounding business and walk back towards the Econo Lodge, and they supposedly heard something hit the motel.
This act was caught on camera, but there was no damage to the property, even if the manager thought there was at the time.
During Dixon’s cross-examination, it was once again brought to the attention of the court that Deltoro didn’t actually break anything on the property. More importantly, Dixon brought attention to the description of the woman that was given to Black by the manager, which included the female having blonde hair.
Dixon asked, “The woman to my left today, does she have blonde hair?”
“No.”
“What color hair does she have?”
“Blackish brown.”
However, when asked by DDA Zambor, Officer Black mentioned there was a separate profile provided by another person on the scene that included the female having black, curly hair, a backpack, a black and red shirt, white pants, and white shoes.
In response, to end the officer’s time in court, Dixon asked the officer if the person next to her had curly hair, to which he said she did not.
According to Dixon, Deltoro is homeless with mental health issues and the incident involved put her through quite a bit of pain, so kicking while on the floor shouldn’t be that surprising. The wrap that was placed on her is also evidence that Deltoro could have been going through an episode. All of this should be enough to decrease the felony count to a misdemeanor, Dixon argued.
In response, DDA Zambor chronicled Deltoro’s previous convictions and other criminal histories, including multiple other felonies and misdemeanors. Some of these cases include Harvey waivers from other places she was disturbing. Zambor argued that Deltoro wouldn’t receive the mental health help she needs if the felony count was decreased to a misdemeanor.
Judge Peter Williams agreed, noting, “Ms. Dixon, you had me until I heard about the criminal history.” He added that even for resisting arrest cases this could’ve gone worse, but the escalating behavior and Deltoro not receiving the services she needs worries him. Because of this, Williams said he hopes DDA Zambor and PD Dixon will work together to get Deltoro the help she needs.
Judge Williams found sufficient cause to hold on both counts and scheduled Deltoro’s arraignment for Sept. 2 in the same department at 9 a.m.
