SACRAMENTO – They say there are a million stories in the “Naked City.” Well, last Friday there were at least two stories in “Zoom Court” at Sacramento County Superior Court.
STORY 1:
By Alexandra Cline
In the first case, one defendant, Mr. (no first name available) Anderson, is clinically bipolar and not taking his medication, according to court records that acknowledged he’d missed three hearings. Judge Kevin McCormick wouldn’t continue with his hearing until he can be present.
Assistant District Attorney Kelly Clark explained it would be a risk of public safety to release Anderson, who was arrested on multiple battery counts after he fought with his wife of 25 years outside their residence, grabbing his wife’s arm and hair, allegedly leaving a bruise.
Witnesses said that when Anderson’s wife was calling the authorities, Anderson walked across the street and gave what appeared to be a high five to a 13-year-old, based on the mother’s eyewitness testimony. After that, he slapped the teenager in the face three times.
When the teenager’s mother came out of her house to tell the defendant to stop, he hit her twice, once in the face, and once in the back. He went back to his wife and pulled her hair again, 
according to the police report.
When police arrived, Anderson was still gripping the victim’s hair and pulling her. Officers pointed Tasers at him, but he refused to let her go. When they tried to pull him off, there was an altercation and the defendant allegedly reached for one of the police officers’ throats.
ADA Clark concluded that victims of this incident, especially nonfamilial ones, will feel unsafe if the defendant returns to his apartment complex. The defense argued that his bail should be lowered, in compliance with emergency judicial order for COVID-19.
Judge McCormick ruled that bail will remain the same, and no decisions will be made until the defendant can appear in person. Although he is bipolar and unmedicated, he will remain in custody until then.
STORY 2:
By Armando Alonzo
Defendant Steve Badue—charged with one count of violating Penal Code section 290.018 (b), failure to register as a sex offender—had his bail reduced, but he wasn’t freed, here in the Sacramento Superior Court.
Badue’s public defender said that he last registered in February 2019. But, in January or February of 2020, he was in Santa Clara County “bouncing between hospitals for months.” The defendant required medical attention for several ruptured organs, including his spleen and a kidney, his defense counsel argued.
Because of those complications, Badue was not able to register, and his defense attorney asked that his bail be reset to zero.
But, because he had, according to court records, “numerous” prior violations of the same penal code, the judge decided that further proof is needed that he missed registering for the claimed reasons. The defendant said that he had medical records of his time in the hospitals left with a relative, and the judge decided to hold the current case for a later time in a bail review.
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