Court Watch

Nearly 30 years ago Chris Fowler committed one of the most unthinkable acts one could imagine – tired, angry, and most of all high on drugs and alcohol, Mr. Fowler, just 22, took out his frustrations on an innocent 22-month-old baby, beating the child to death.  For that crime, he was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison and has been eligible for parole now for nearly 20 years.

As we reported back in 2011 and just last week, on November 8, 2010, Mr. Fowler was found suitable for parole, but then politics got in the way.  The Yolo County DA’s office put massive amounts of pressure on Governor Jerry Brown, and Governor Brown who ironically has been more likely to allow parole to go forward than his predecessors, succumbed to that press, arguing, if released, Mr. Fowler would pose an unreasonable risk to public safety, and reversed the parole board’s decision.

Last night I belatedly caught Helen Prejean’s interview with MSNBC talk show host Rachel Maddow.  Helen Prejean is the nun who wrote the book “Dead Man Walking,” chronicling her experience with a condemned killer, and one of the most forceful opponents to capital punishment.

Part of what she said really struck me, about “once you get people to be able to identify that the human being who did that outrageous act is more than that one act in their life.”

Chris Fowler, in November of 1983 and then 22 years old, was convicted of second degree murder for the beating death of 22-month-old Aaron Miller.  He was sentenced to 15 years to life and was eligible for parole on December 23, 1993.

On November 8, 2010, the Board of Parole Hearings (Board) found Mr. Fowler suitable for parole.  However, the governor reversed the Board’s decision, concluding that, if released, Mr. Fowler would pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.

By David Greenwald and Antoinnette Borbon

A sad day today to watch the media swarm around a tragic case. Behind the glass booth of the courtroom today stood a 16-year-old defendant who has been charged with the double homicide of an elderly couple.

On April 13 of this year, the couple was found stabbed to death in their South Davis home. Daniel Marsh was arrested on Monday after an investigation which, at the onset, had police baffled.

It is somewhat surprising that the mass local or regional media did not pick up the story of the trial of Bill Wolfington.  After all, it would seem to have all of the elements.  When he was arrested and his story splashed across the news, there was his connection to the original West Sacramento gang injunction, where he was the sole party who was served by then-Deputy DA Jeff Reisig.

So why would his subsequent arrest on murder and gang charges – a case that was briefly considered as a possible death penalty case – not garner more coverage?  That will remain a mystery to me.

On Friday afternoon, following nearly three full days of deliberation on the two-and-a-half week, co-defendant murder trial, the jury delivered a split verdict – delivering a guilty verdict for Billy Wolfington of second degree murder  without the gang enhancement but acquitting co-defendant Shannon Silva.

The verdict can only been seen as a blow to the prosecution, who initially contemplated the death penalty, before seeking first degree murder charges on both defendants stemming from the September 2, 2011, stabbing death of 29-year-old Bobby Brittenum.

In the wake of last week’s landmark decision by the Supreme Court on DNA databases that could allow police to take DNA samples from people arrested for possibly committing “serious” crimes, many justified the ruling as a way to protect the innocent and catch the guilty.

However, Justice Antonin Scalia and three of the court’s liberal justices disagreed.  In a scathing dissent, Justice Scalia argued “solving crime is a noble objective but less important than protecting people from suspicionless searches.  Your DNA can be taken if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, for whatever reason.”

By David M. Greenwald and Antoinnette Borbon

Deputy District Attorney Ryan Couzens summarized his case against Billy Wolfington and Shannon Silva, arguing that victim Bobby Brittenum said something that was arguably threatening, but more simply offensive, and Billy Wolfington stabbed him to death.  He argued that the motive was a perceived lack of respect on the part of Mr. Brittenum.

In DDA Ryan Couzens’ closing, he talked more about all of the laws and instructions of those laws than of the actual stabbing itself. But he wanted to make sure the jurors truly understood how they are to view the law and make the decision of guilty or not guilty.

by Antoinnette Borbon

After finishing up testimony with gang expert Mark Harrison, the defense called defendant Billy Wolfington to the stand. Wolfington, along with co-defendant Shannon Silva, have been charged with the stabbing death of Bobby Brittenum, who was found at the Flamingo Motel in West Sacramento on the night of September 2, 2011.

Mr. Wolfington started out by telling a story which began from the time he was in his mother’s womb. He told the jurors that his mother did not want him but ended up having him only to give him up to another couple. I missed who they were. He stated the couple took him home to their home in the Broderick area. Mr. Wolfington stated both parents were heroin addicts, so he had been exposed to drugs his whole young life. At the age of 3, Mr. Wolfington first witnessed his father, who was not his biological father, get arrested for possession. Mr. Wolfington, choking up during testimony, talked about how it affected him.

It was a remarkable op-ed column in the Sunday New York Times where Richard Viguerie, chair of ConservativeHQ.com, made the conservative case for prison reform arguing: “Conservatives should recognize that the entire criminal justice system is another government spending program fraught with the issues that plague all government programs.”

He continues: “Criminal justice should be subject to the same level of skepticism and scrutiny that we apply to any other government program.”

by Antoinnette Borbon

After finishing the testimony in the state’s case in the murder trial of Billy Wolfington and Shannon Silva, who are being charged with stabbing to death a West Sacramento man, the defense began its opening statement.

Ron Johnson, Deputy Public Defender for Billy Wolfington, told a story of a man who had been addicted to meth but was trying to quit. He told jurors Wolfington had one last slip up with drugs. He gave into his addiction after being clean since he was out of prison in May of 2011. Johnson explained that Wolfington set out to find drugs.

By Charmayne Schmitz

On Thursday, Detective Wilson from the West Sacramento Police Department explained the symbols used by the Northern Riders/Broderick Boys to identify themselves as separate from the Norteños gang. The Playboy bunny, (which turned upside down would resemble an “R” for Riders) is the main identification, along with epitaphs that use the word “ride” and the “$” sign. Another symbol is a broken star to show disrespect for the Norteño gang they broke away from.

Wilson went on to list the members that have been documented to be a part of the gang. This included some prior cases and convictions covered by the Vanguard such as Chris Castillo from the Memorial Park incident. The criminal history of several of the Riders gang was reviewed, along with documentation of 19 incidents that law enforcement used to identify Wolfington as a known gang member. Wolfington’s address book was shown to the jury to illustrate his contacts with other known gang members.

by Antoinnette Borbon

It is official now. Deputy DA Martha Holzapfel has decided to re-file on James Elron Mings, who was recently convicted of attempted murder by a jury of his peers. Mings was asked to help end the life of his friend, Kevin Seery, 42, on the eve of October 1, 2011.

Mings, describing himself as a man of “love and charity,” walked a thousand miles  to be with the woman of his dreams, he explained on the stand.

by Antoinnette Borbon

As the morning began, the prosecution’s case-in-chief continued with an audiotape of  a key  witness in this case. Billy Wolfington and Shannon Silva are the two defendants charged with stabbing a man to death in a West Sacramento motel, in the early evening of September 2, 2011.

Carlitha Gordon was the voice on the recorded audio. I missed the name of the West Sacramento officer who actually recorded her statement. As the interrogation first started out, the West Sacramento police officer began asking her questions. Carlitha seemed to rant on and on about her life and how bad it was at the present.

By Antoinnette Borbon

The trial of co-defendants Billy Wolfington and Shannon Silva continued yesterday morning with the promise of a sober witness. Simone Mitchell, who had to be taken into custody on Friday, took the stand once again. She gave testimony about the night of September 2, 2011, only this time she seemed to be much more calm. She was able to answer all questions from both Deputy DA Ryan Couzens and from the defense attorneys.

After testifying on the stand, we heard the audiotape of Simone Mitchell from the night of the incident, taken by police officers. As most of her story stayed consistent with her testimony on the stand, a few things were unclear or rather hard to understand, due to the audiotape and the tone of her voice being low.

When we last saw Simone Mitchell, a key witness in the murder trial of Billy Wolfington and Shannon Silva, we saw a frightened, shaking witness who told prosecutor Ryan Couzens that she was shaking and crying because she knew the defendants were from the Broderick Boys gang and was scared.

Ms. Mitchell then was asked by Mr. Couzens if she were under the influence of anything that day.  She replied with a yes, “I had a couple beers and a joint ’cause I was nervous!”

By Ibrahim Baig

Yesterday in Department 6, Judge David Reed presided over Frank Escobar’s preliminary hearing. This hearing was to determine if Mr. Escobar had violated his probation.

Heavy charges are listed against Escobar, including kidnapping, corporal injury, battery and child abuse.

It was mid-May when Jerry Brown, a lifelong opponent of the death penalty, met with prosecutors who are seeking to end California’s death penalty moratorium.

As the Sacramento Bee‘s Dan Morain reported on May 15, San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos, one of the prosecutors fighting California’s death penalty moratorium, now in its seventh year, after meeting with Governor Brown wrote, “After a respectful discussion about our philosophical differences regarding the death penalty, we discussed what the law is and how the people voted for capital punishment. He understands the vote of our citizens.”

At the outset of the murder trial of Billy Wolfington and Shannon Silva, Deputy DA Ryan Couzens laid out what this case was all about for the District Attorney’s office: gangs and fear.  He argued that gangs act as the veritable schoolyard bully, seeking to induce fear in the populace, and that fear brings respect to the gang.

At the same time, he warned the jury that the stories told by the witnesses would not all add up.  The witnesses were high on alcohol and meth.  This incident occurred at a party – a party which is probably closer to a group of meth addicts smoking their product than anything else.