By Lamiya Gulamhusein
ALAMEDA, CA – A police officer took the stand here this week during an ongoing jury trial in Alameda County Superior Court, after the accused was allegedly found demanding “millions, billions” of dollars from a credit union, and carrying a concealed weapon.
Reportedly accusing a credit union of fraudulent activity, “Doe” (the Vanguard doesn’t normally identify people accused of misdemeanors) was escorted off of the premises by police officers. She was later charged with a misdemeanor for carrying a concealed firearm.
Deputy District Attorney Victoria Melissa Carter extensively questioned the witness, asking him to recall the details of the incident.
Noting that the credit union’s panic button had been pushed to activate a direct line to the police, the officer stated that “we were under the impression that there could be a firearm involved. Some kind of a hold up.”
The officer said he had spoken to the manager at the time, who explained “there was an individual who was inside the (credit union), who was very disgruntled, very angry, demanded that everyone inside be arrested, and refused to leave.”
The officer said the manager “explained that the person inside the (credit) union was demanding millions of dollars, a billion dollars…those funds were not in the account. We tried to explain that to her.”
The manager said the women was not alone, her nine-year-old daughter was with her.
The suspect allegedly told the manager “her employers were using her…to make money and she wasn’t receiving any money from the (credit union). There were quite a bit of inconsistencies in her story. It sound like she believed everyone was conspiring against her.”
The officer said the suspect said she had already filed police reports regarding fraudulent activity and as I mentioned earlier, just requesting her money,” who said they found stacks of reports in the woman’s vehicle.
Once placed in handcuffs, the officer said the suspect admitted she had a weapon on her—a firearm was allegedly retrieved from her right jacket pocket.
Alameda County Public Defender Karl S. Lindemann asked whether the suspect “had been non-violent,” and the officer said the manager said yes, and there was no mention of a weapon in front of the victim.
“[The manager] said (the suspect) had calmed down—at the time you were speaking with her, (she) was sitting in a chair and calm, correct?” questioned Lindemann.
“Yes, I do recall that,” stated the officer, who agreed with the PD that all the manager wanted was to ask the suspect “to leave the credit union.”
PD Lindemann inquired if another officer “had also admonished [the manager] that they had improperly used the panic button that day, correct?” And the officer on the stand officer affirmed, “That is correct.”
If convicted, the defendant could face up to one year in state prison. The next trial date is May 25.
