Court Watch

By Catherine McKnight

A special proceeding jury trial began Tuesday morning in the case of People v. Humphrey. Casey Humphrey, the defendant, has been in Napa State Hospital since he was in 18 in 2002, and is eligible for release in November of this year. The people believe he is not ready to be released and still poses a “substantial threat” to others.

The court heard opening statements from Deputy District Attorney Robert Gorman and Deputy Public Defender Bret Bandley.

I have had the pleasure of getting to know the victim in this case, Mikey Partida, and his family.  Everyone responds differently when the unexpected strikes and, for the Partida family, they decided to get involved in community activism to ensure that this never happens to another person.

I greatly respect Gloria Partida, the mother of Mikey Partida, and her commitment to her family and her community.  I understand why they wanted to put this behind them, I understand that getting the hate crime enhancement was vitally important to them, and I understand when they say that they are at peace.

Clayton Garzon, whose brutal beating of Mikey Partida, while shouting anti-gay epithets, horrified and captivated the Davis community last spring, has plead no contest to two counts and will receive a five-year prison sentence, to be served at the Yolo County Jail.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Mr. Garzon plead no contest to battery causing serious bodily injury and a hate crimes enhancement.

Last week we heard the testimony of Ariel Pineda, who testified that he had performed the interrogation of Daniel Marsh – who was 15 at the time of the crimes and had just turned 16 when questioned by Detective Pineda.

He testified that it was about a four-hour interrogation – it was apparently performed with an FBI agent present, but without the presence of an attorney.

Daniel Marsh Case Draws Media Scrutiny While Horrific Elder Abuse Case Draws None – The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office has a page where they have compiled the latest “high profile cases.”  It’s a nice tool for the public and those interested in keeping track of the high profile cases – it has the name of the defense, the case number, the charges, and of course the next hearing date and where the case stands.

But it does raise the rather interesting question, in listing 15 cases – why are those cases high profile, covered by the media, while other cases are not?  Why does the media cover some cases and not others?

Today’s over-the-top headline in the local paper, “Police: Teen Confessed to Killing Davis Couple,” leaves us with a sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs.  A few weeks ago, acting on principle, we opposed the court closing the preliminary hearing to the public.

We believe that we did the right thing, but we understand the concerns of the defense.  Everything has a context, and in this case, we literally heard one side of the story without even the usual cross-examination.

by Antoinnette Borbon

The courtroom was filled today awaiting to hear what would be the beginning of the case against young Daniel Marsh. Daniel Marsh, 16, has been charged with double homicide. On April 14th, 2013, the bodies of Oliver Northup and Claudia Maupin Northup were found in their home on Cowell Blvd. Authorities were called to do a welfare check on the couple, only to discover the two deceased in their bed.

Deputy Public Defender Ron Johnson filed a motion for a continuance yesterday, stating he did not have time to listen to a 13-hour long audiotape of the interrogation of Mr. Marsh. He told Judge Fall he was not prepared and needed more time. Supervising Deputy District Attorney Michael Cabral opposed his motion.

Report Warns of Potential Dangers If Services Are Not Provided to Released Inmates – According to a report from the Stanford Three Strikes Project, the 1000^th inmate has been released under the reform that overwhelming was passed by the voters in the form of Proposition 36 in 2012.

Proposition 36 offers an opportunity for eligible California prison inmates sentenced under California’s prior Three Strikes Law for non-serious, non-violent crimes to seek a sentence reduction from their sentencing courts.

When Eric Holder announced sweeping changes to the federal government’s enforcement of drug laws and its pursuit of mandatory minimums for non-violent, small quantity drug possession offenses, perhaps the biggest change came two weeks later when Mr. Holder informed the states that the government would allow the states to create a regime that would regulate and implement the ballot initiatives that legalized the use of marijuana for adults.

This is a marked contrast to how the Justice Department under Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and the first term of Barack Obama dealt with California’s medical marijuana law, where the federal government was often criticized for raiding facilities, treating terminally ill cancer patients, which dispensed marijuana under state law.

By Catherine McKnight

Deputy District Attorney Deanna Hayes began her opening statement by describing the alleged victim in this case and some of the events that led up to the restraining order she ultimately sought against her husband, Juan Martinez.

By Anthony Rascon-Ramos

Deputy DA Refuses to Provide Name to Vanguard: In the jury trial of People v. Luna the jury reached a verdict on Tuesday morning (August 27, 2013) and found the defendant guilty on count one of possessing an illegal switch blade.

The main argument of the deputy district attorney (who declined to have her name exposed) was that the defendant’s knife was a switch blade knife because it had a spring mechanism that allowed the knife to forcefully open up with the touch of a button. On the contrary, Deputy Public Defender Ms. Aguero’s main argument, in contrast, was that the knife Mr. Luna possessed was, in fact, a pocket knife and that the way to open it was by applying pressure on the knife itself.

Three weeks today, a Yolo County jury acquitted Regina Roxanne Perez of perjury after she had been a prospective juror in the 2011-12 Marco Topete death penalty case.  Ms. Perez and her attorney, Alin Cintean, addressed the Vanguard Court Watch Council last Sunday in front of at least 50 community members at the Davis Public Library.

The case itself is relatively simple.  The prosecution, led by Deputy DA Sulaiman Tokhi, argued that Ms. Perez had lied under oath when she testified that she did not speak to her imprisoned son about that case. She was initially called for jury duty on January 11, 2011, as one of hundreds that potentially could be empaneled as jurors in the death penalty case, which would go on for much of the next year before jurors reached a verdict of guilty and ultimately recommended a sentence of death.

Yolo County Judge Timothy Fall quickly denied a motion filed by Public Defender Ron Johnson that sought to close to the public the preliminary hearing in the trial of 16-year-old Davis resident Daniel Marsh. Mr. Marsh stands accused in the double homicides of Oliver “Chip” Northup and Claudia Maupin of Davis.

“The media coverage has offered speculations about details of the case, including possible defenses, evidence which may later be deemed inadmissible, Mr. Marsh’s history, and his motives,” Mr. Johnson wrote in his motion.  “The media coverage has made a spectacle out of this case, and the potential jurors in Yolo County are unlikely to forget the assumptions and statements publicized by the news media before Mr. Marsh’s trial.”

A Woodland resident, Kristal Sutton, has been held to answer for a single felony hit and run causing death or serious injury charge, after a preliminary hearing on Tuesday in Judge Timothy Fall’s Yolo County courtroom.

According to testimony from three officers, on June 30 around 10 pm in the evening, Ms. Sutton went into the 7-Eleven on East Main in Woodland and purchased a Squirt.  As she went toward her car, she was approached by Alisa Horner.

by Antoinnette Borbon

A Yolo County man stood trial on Tuesday, facing charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm being a felon, and possession of drug paraphernalia – along with the enhancement of having the firearm while in possession of the controlled substance.  On Tuesday he took the stand to testify in his own defense.

Andrew Savala, a man who had admitted on the stand Tuesday to a long-term addiction to methamphetamine, also admitted to having a history of being in prison, on two separate occasions. But before the testimony ended, we heard the defendant talk about being put on the county’s “gang injunction” list as a known gang member. He testified that he was actually in prison when his grandparents were served the papers with his name on it.

By David Greenwald and Christina Zuniga

Judge David Rosenberg would hold Troy Hensley, a 37-year-old former JV football coach at Dixon High, to answer on charges that he carried out a lengthy sexual relationship with a then 17-year-old student for four months while she was underage.

Mr. Hensley faces 24 charges related to three types of sexual offenses (sex with a minor, oral copulation with a minor, and sexual penetration with a foreign object with a minor) on eight separate dates, dating from May 31, 2012, until the alleged victim turned 18 on September 10, 2012.  The alleged victim, however, indicated that there were far more than the eight charged dates and that the sexual relationship started far earlier, before they had intercourse for the first time on May 31.

Date: August 25, 2013
Time: 5:15 to 7:15 PM
Location: 315 E. 14th St. , Davis, CA 95616
Yolo County Library Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch in the Blanchard Room

On Sunday, August 25 from 5:15 to 7:15pm in the Blanchard Room of the Stephens Branch Library, 315 E. 14th St. in Davis, the Vanguard Court Watch Council of Yolo County (VCWCYC) is inviting the public to come forward to express their concerns about the judicial system, provide testimony and give personal accounts of contemporary cases in the Yolo County Court system. 

Citizens are encouraged to come to listen to topics of concern raised by invited guests and participate themselves by sharing their experiences with the council and the public.

This week we saw, once again, a man facing felony charges in Yolo County for a miniscule petty theft.  In this case, the man faced a felony charge, accused of stealing a rice bowl from the Nugget Market in Davis.

Under California law, petty theft with a prior is a wobbler – it can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor, with the DA having the discretion of charging it as either.  However, Judge Richardson used his discretion to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor.

By David M. Greenwald

Last week, the mother of Michael Perez, Regina Roxanne Perez, was acquitted of perjury stemming from answers she gave in response to a jury questionnaire for the Marco Topete trial back in 2011.  A week later, Michael Perez, whose 2001 murder conviction was overturned in 2010 and sent back to Yolo County, was in Yolo County court and copped to a reduced plea.

Mr. Perez pled no contest to second degree murder and a reduced enhancement for personal use of a firmarm.  He would receive from Judge Mock an 18-year to life sentence.  With his time in custody since 2001, he will be eligible for parole in the relatively near future.

A Woodland man, Justin Garcia, will face trial on charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, child endangerment and resisting arrest following Judge Fall’s ruling after a preliminary hearing on Friday, which showed wildly divergent testimony between YONET officers who arrested Mr. Garcia on November 10, 2012, and eyewitness accounts of the supposed victims.

Judge Fall called the kidnapping charges unusual in that they involved fear rather than force, but noted that the statute does not require a particular level of fear that compels the victim to comply.  He said it will be up to a jury to determine whether the facts in this case constitute kidnapping and false imprisonment.