Corporal Injury Case Set for Trial, Even Though Testimony of Only Witness Equates Victim Statement with Own Assumptions
Claburn describes confusion in this Sacramento courtroom as a witness seems to equate what the victim directly said versus implied:
[Public Defender Damien Jovel] continued to press [the witness, Deputy Kisch] on her assumption by asking more about how the kids did not hear anything during the incident, despite their small living situation for seven people—to which Kisch responded by saying that the victim had “indicated that her getting beat was quite normal so she kept quiet.”
After quite some debate where Kisch was explicitly asked if the victim had said these things, Kisch clarified that the victim had explicitly said “[the kids] wouldn’t have heard me” but had not explicitly said that she had experienced assault from her husband before. To read more of this article, click here.
LA County Deputies Charged with Lying in Police Report to Cover Up Use of Excessive Force 
This week in Los Angeles, two former Sheriff Deputies were arraigned for filing a false report for the sake of covering up excessive force during an arrest:
While [the former officers] were chasing the man, another suspect exited the car’s driver side door and “began to open fire on other officers at the scene,” according to the police reports for this case.
However, although it wasn’t completely clear in the DA’s comments, the officers have been charged with “lying in their reports about what transpired,” and that may involve the supposed shooting. To read more of this article, click here.
Despite Hesitation to Admit to Crime, Accused Pleads No Contest to Get ‘Outta Jail Today’ – He Spent 622 Days Awaiting Trial
By Joseph Shepard
Shepard illustrates a hesitant plea from a person who seemed to aim to leave jail more than prove his innocence:
At this point, [DDA Hannah Meyer] asked Ledbetter to affirm the factual basis of his plea, which stated that he “willfully and unlawfully threatened to kill” the victim with the intent to threaten them and that, at the time of the crime, he was restricted from having contact with the victim due to a protective order.
When asked to confirm this with a “yes” or “no,” Ledbetter hesitated, saying yes, but adding that “I didn’t threaten her, but that’s okay, I’ll just go for it.”
Meyer then began to tell the defendant that he should not enter his plea if he had any hesitation, but Ledbetter interrupted to say that he was fine with entering the plea, agreeing to admit to the factual basis despite what he had said earlier. To read more of this article, click here.
Witnesses Highlight 1st Day of Preliminary Hearing for Man Accused of Stabbing Workmate in Neck with Scissors
By Ankita Joshi
The first day of this Alameda preliminary hearing for a workplace assault contained the chilling testimony of the victim herself:
The victim thought she was being choked at first because her vision “went dark and [she] fell to her knees.”
After the pressure had dissipated, the victim recounted how she had looked back at the defendant—identified as Adams—to see him standing there staring at her.
She then felt something sticking out of her neck, so she ran out of the room and started yelling for help. After she started yelling, she said other people in the lab had come toward her to see what had happened.
The victim also noted that the defendant had come out of the room moments later and “acted like nothing had happened.” The victim recounted that defendant Adams asked “what happened” to which she had replied, “You did this to me.” To read more of this article, click here.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time? No Bail Set for Alleged Firearms Maker Who Claims Just ‘Sleeping’ on Uncle’s Couch
By Peter Eibert
In this Sacramento bail revision hearing, attorneys debated how involved the defendant was in his uncle’s illegal firearm business:
[Defense attorney Joel Scott] held that “[Isa] was simply sleeping on the couch when law enforcement arrived and entered the house.” He also added that “the police report does seem to support [Isa] being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Scott explained that the firearm manufacturing equipment and the illegal firearms were “found in an attic that connected to the master bedroom, which was the bedroom of [his uncle].” Scott also said that the uncle had “six firearms,” “ammunition,” and other “firearms pieces” in the house “that he owned legally.”
Deputy District Attorney Saron Tesfai disagreed, and held that “it’s the officers’ belief that the defendant was in cooperation with his uncle making firearms.” To read more of this article, click here.
