By Alex Jimenez
ALAMEDA, CA- This week here at the Oakland Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse, the court appeared to be leaning toward releasing defendant Devin Campbell after the complaining witness insisted she did want to seek prosecution on the matter.
However, after hearing about Campbell’s non-compliance with court orders, the judge reconsidered her position.
Campbell is charged with violating a criminal protective order—the court was set to hear a motion to consolidate four cases and discuss bail and possible release.
The complaining witness, who is Campbell’s partner, was interviewed by both Assistant Public Defender Zachery Esai Sosa and Prosecutor Laura Anderson, indicating she did not want to seek further prosecution and requested a “no harassment order” as opposed to a no contact order, according to Sosa.
The motion to consolidate was granted by Judge Barbara Dickinson despite Sosa’s opposition, who claimed the motion would violate Campbell’s right to due process.
The attention quickly shifted to discussing bail, in which Sosa argued that Campbell “has the right to be released on OR at the least with conditions,” and further elaborating that under the California constitution his client would be entitled to being released on his own recognizance given the nature of the charges.
Sosa then suggested less restrictive alternatives, given that the complaining witness and Campbell share a five-year-old daughter, and explained that much of Campbell’s focus had been on being able to provide for his daughter. Furthermore, if a no contact order is placed, Sosa suggested that he could stay with his aunt who lives in Alameda County.
Judge Dickinson, however, expressed her concerns, noting Campbell has violated court orders multiple times.
“The court takes a dim view of people who over and over again violate court orders,” said the judge, adding the complaining witness is interested in not having these cases prosecuted.
DDA Anderson did confirm that the complaining witness preferred to have a “no hand” in place as opposed to a full criminal protective order. Some of the conditions also included parenting and anger management classes. Anderson, however, was worried about her safety given Campbell’s past conduct.
There was a no trespass order at an apartment complex near UC Berkeley to which the police were called multiple times for trespassing where Campbell was involved. Campbell also has two domestic violence convictions in Alameda County from 2015 and 2016.
DDA Anderson had reservations about releasing Campbell and requested that he be held on no bail.
It was recently discovered that, while in Santa Rita Jail, Campbell had called the complaining witness 29 times, although the content of those calls are unknown at this time.
Sosa responded by arguing research has shown that anger management classes have had positive results in these cases.
Judge Dickinson decided to deny an own recognizance (no bail) release, ruling “the court was considering OR release until the court heard that he called the victim 29 times while in custody,” said Dickinson.
The judge also pointed to Campbell’s multiple arrests and repeated failures to comply with court orders despite posting bail in the past. The judge was convinced that Campbell would not follow any court orders and bail would remain the same at $20,000.
Campbell is set to return to court on Dec. 1 for a pretrial.
