By Taric Mansour
WOODLAND – Yolo County Superior Court Judge Peter Williams did a nice thing—kind of—here in Superior Court.
He didn’t release a defendant on zero bail who threatened to kill a man over a telephone conversation, but he did cut the bail in half, to $25,000.
Defendant Jesse Baldizan was set to be charged with a felony under California Penal Code section 422 for threatening to kill a district manager over the phone.
His public defender argued that the threat was not credible because he had no means to carry out the threat. In a similar incident on the same charge, the defendant used derogatory language toward a woman over the telephone and also threatened to take her life.
On both counts, the defendant’s counsel argued that the threat was not credible, and so should not constitute a criminal threat. Particularly, the language was too vague, maintained the public defender, and the threat was not made in the complainant’s presence.
The defendant struggles with mental health issues, added the public defender, and so should be released from jail while the charges are pending.
Judge Williams pointed to the defendant’s previous criminal history, including public intoxication and battery of a police officer, to argue otherwise.
Judge Williams reduced the defendant’s bail by 50 percent, from $50,000 to $25,000. The case is set to return on July 20, 2020.
To sign up for our new newsletter – Everyday Injustice – https://tinyurl.com/yyultcf9
