WOODLAND, CA – A motion to dismiss was denied in Yolo County Superior Court this week, even after UC Davis Police destroyed bodycam footage and other material evidence central to the case. Defense attorney Kresta N. Daly argued the loss of evidence, combined with a questionable witness identification, undermined the fairness of the prosecution.
The accused is charged with disorderly lewd conduct for allegedly “touching himself” while staring directly at a witness.
Daly began by stating that the “UC Davis Police Department has destroyed evidence,” including an officer’s bodycam footage of an interview with the accused, as well as an image and video taken by the complaining witness that “are allegedly of the accused.”
She said UC Davis police provided no explanation for the destruction beyond the claim it was “just for this case.” Daly stressed the importance of the interview footage, explaining that the accused is autistic and “does not understand what is being said to him.”
Deputy District Attorney Farouq Ghazzawi countered that the destroyed video had “no expository value that was significant before it was destroyed,” but did have “inculpatory value.”
He said the accused denied removing his genitalia in the video but could not say whether he was touching himself while staring at the witness. Questioning Daly’s assertion that the accused is autistic, Ghazzawi added, “I don’t know how we can look at someone and say they are autistic.”
Daly responded that the defense had “produced thousands of records that have dated back 20 years to prove he is autistic.”
Ghazzawi argued no constitutional violation occurred because authorities did not act in “bad faith.” He said the destruction of evidence was caused by UC Davis police changing their audiovisual repository system and repeated there was “no malice” and that the loss was purely “accidental.”
He added the footage carried inculpatory value because the accused “started getting fidgety and couldn’t remember” whether he touched himself while staring at the witness.
“The prosecution expects us to just take some cops’ word for it,” Daly said. “The video exists to have an independent way to evaluate what actually happened.”
Daly told the court she had been requesting the evidence for 10 months and questioned whether it was destroyed before or after her request.
The defense also raised concerns about the complaining witness’s identification. Daly pointed out that the witness initially said the accused only “looked similar” in a federal line-up and later identified him after viewing his LinkedIn photo. “That’s suspicious,” she argued.
Ghazzawi countered that the accused did not deny following the witness and maintained that the positive identification in the federal line-up should be considered valid. Daly responded that the witness’s statement the accused merely “looked similar” was not sufficient for a positive ID.
As part of her motion, Daly submitted a 20-minute text exchange between the accused and a friend about a football game, arguing, “I don’t know how he’s able to maintain a 20-minute conversation while staring at a person.”
Ultimately, Judge Paul K. Richardson denied the motion to dismiss without prejudice.
The pretrial conference is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 9 a.m.
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