By Shady Gonzales
MODESTO, CA – A young mother will stand trial for a series of felony and misdemeanor charges after her preliminary hearing here in Stanislaus County Superior Court this week.
The alleged victim in the case stood on the stand as the first witness in the case against Isabel Sosa, the mother of the victim’s child.
During his direct examination, the victim testified that on August 21 of 2021 he realized, after waking up to glass shattering in his kitchen, that Sosa had gone to his residence during the night.
When going to investigate, the victim said he saw glass on his kitchen floor and Sosa’s vehicle parked in the front of his house.
The victim testified that Sosa was standing outside of his kitchen window while screaming at him. The victim saw Sosa throwing rocks into the window while glass lay scattered on his kitchen floor.
The victim recalled having to move away from the window repeatedly in order to avoid being hit by the rocks. He clarified that he was only a foot away from the window during this time because his kitchen is rather small.
Despite avoiding being hit by the rocks being thrown, the victim had been hit by the glass being broken off of the window.
Following Sosa’s actions of throwing rocks into the victim’s kitchen window, the victim alleged he watched Sosa as she walked to the victim’s car. Although the victim was unable to see Sosa’s exact actions, the victim recalled hearing noises during this time.
Although the victim never left his house while Sosa was there that night, he stated that Sosa had been keying his car while she was standing next to it.
The victim stated he had called both 911 and his mother while Sosa was there.
He clarified that he called his mother because he was at his residence alone and he wanted his mother to somehow help him get out of the situation.
The victim stated that the gate to his house was closed when he went to sleep and that the gate typically has a lock on it. When the victim woke up, his gate was completely open and it had been bent.
The victim mentioned that he came to the conclusion that Sosa had rammed the gate in with her vehicle.
The victim recalled his baby was in the back seat of the car during the duration of these events. His daughter was about one year old at the time that these events took place.
Upon arrival, the victim’s mother retrieved his daughter from Sosa’s vehicle and brought her inside of his house.
The victim got an estimate at a body shop to determine the cost of repairing his car from the key marks that were found on the vehicle after the night of August 21, 2021. It was estimated that it would cost $1,200-2,500 to repair the vehicle depending on how deep the scratches were.
The victim also called a glass company to get an estimate on how much it would cost to repair the window himself. It was reported that the window repair would cost $350-400.
During the cross-examination of the victim, he was asked by defense attorney Ryan Roth if “at any point [he] took the defendant by the back of her neck.” The victim said that he did not.
Attorney Roth asked if the victim ever pushed Sosa down. The victim said no.
Roth then asked the victim if he knew how Sosa got a cut on her knee. The victim said no once again.
In conclusion to this set of questions, Roth asked the victim if he ever saw the blood that was coming out of Sosa’s knee that night. The victim said that he “never saw anything like that.”
The victim also clarified that he never left his house that night until emergency personnel arrived at his house.
The second and final witness called to the stand during this preliminary hearing was Officer Nathaniel Krebs.
During direct examination, Officer Krebs testified that while standing next to Sosa he had “smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage and then she spontaneously told [him] that she was buzzed and she should not have been driving.”
Defense counsel argued because the victim was not in the room while Sosa had begun throwing rocks into the kitchen window, she had not intended to inflict harm onto the victim but only to damage the window.
Judge Linda McFadden agreed with the defense counsel on this point but argued that this initial intent may not matter since Sosa continued after the victim was present in the room and that it was likely a conclusion that a jury would have to make.
In closing of the preliminary hearing, Judge McFadden read the charges that will be held against Sosa at trial, including child endangerment, vandalism of property, committing an assault that is likely to produce great bodily injury, and multiple charges related to operating a vehicle under the influence while under the age of 21 years.
The arraignment and trial setting for Sosa’s case was scheduled for May 31.
