Court Watch

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.

In his Friday column, Davis Enterprise columnist Bob Dunning raises the question as to whether Clayton Garzon, accused in the brutal beating of Mikey Partida back in March, would be able to get a fair trial in Yolo County.

He concludes, “If the defense can find 12 people in Yolo County who have never heard of this case, fine … but they would have to have been living in a cave to say that honestly …”

By Antoinette Borbon

During his opening arguments on Thursday, Deputy District Attorney Ryan Couzens had admonished the jury that the witnesses were all drinking and partaking in meth use.  He warned them that at times the testimony might conflict.  But even he was perhaps not prepared for what happened on Friday.

The trial of Billy Wolfington and Shannon Silva continued Friday afternoon in Judge Mock’s court. It was quite eventful, to put it mildly. Taking the stand was Simone Mitchell. Ms. Mitchell, wearing a hat and cloth nearly covering her face, was shaking and on the verge of tears as Mr. Couzens began asking her questions about the evening of September 2, 2011.

The trial began for Shannon Silva and Billy Wolfington, charged with murder and gang charges following what was described by Deputy DA Ryan Couzens as one of the most brutal stabbings one medical investigator had ever scene.

The victim was 29-year-old Bobby Brittenum, who was stabbed more than 14 times in a room at the Town House Motel located in the 900 block of West Capitol Ave.  The stabbing occurred at 6:45 pm, and Mr. Brittenum was found lying in the parking lot, bleeding.  He would be transported to the hospital but died from his injuries.

By Catherine Woodward

On Wednesday, May 29, Department 1 heard Mr. Gerardo Cesena’s preliminary hearing. Represented by Deputy Public Defender Dave Muller, Mr. Cesena is charged with driving under the influence of drugs, as well as possession of a controlled substance: methamphetamine.

Deputy District Attorney Crystal Junge’s first and only witness was Officer Mike Simpson, who is with the California Highway Patrol, Woodland office. A certified drug recognition expert, he has been a CHP officer for over ten years. On March 14 of this year, Officer Simpson was driving northbound on I-5 in Woodland. He noticed a vehicle that had tinted windows and subsequently performed a traffic enforcement stop.

Earlier this week, the Sacramento Police Department reported the death of a man in his forties, in their custody after a brief but violent struggle.  On Tuesday they released a brief report on the death of John Torretti.

Death in Custody Investigation – The Sacramento Police Department’s investigation into the death of John Torretti, while he was in police custody, continues. The department immediately launched an investigation to understand the full facts of this case and appreciates those who resisted the urge to jump to conclusions during a very tragic situation.

I have heard the horror stories, this year among all others.  Misdemeanor courtrooms where attorneys are nowhere to be seen.  Defendants in custody for months on minor charges, without having seen an attorney, and the judge completely indifferent.  That does not happen in Yolo County.

Still, what I saw last Monday disturbs me for what could have been, rather than for what was.  It had all of the recipes for disaster.  We start with a young 23-year-old defendant who was apparently cited by the CHP, driving on I-80 at excessive speeds with a suspended license.  At some point, someone told her she did not need an attorney as the misdemeanor would be dropped.

Earlier this week, in a column, we questioned the defense in the Clayton Garzon case, where he allegedly attacked Mikey Partida while using racial epithets.  As we noted at the time, the defense brought in a linguistics expert from Brigham Young University in Utah to testify that anti-gay slurs are not necessarily reflective of bias against homosexuals, but rather could be simply used to challenge one’s manhood.

Professor William Eggington testified that language is more nuanced than people think, with a single word having a variety of meanings when used in various social contexts.

I admit that when nationally publicized trials come on, I turn them off.  It’s a bad habit of mine.  I made the mistake with the OJ Simpson trial, and I have made the mistake several other times.  I have come to regret it yet again.  Another time I will explain my predilection for doing this, but for now, let me just point out my eyes were opened when I saw that the jury could not reach a verdict on the penalty phase.

To me this is a misnomer.  If you have a penalty phase and the jury cannot agree on life or death, then the default should be life, and the case should be over.  These were the jurors that convicted Ms. Arias, these are the ones who know the case the best, and if they can’t decide, then that’s reasonable doubt, isn’t it?

In the past few weeks, I have had numerous conversations on the issue of racial profiling and the recent event involving 68-year-old Eli Davis.  One of the more interesting things is how much the reaction of white and blacks diverge, not only on this incident, but on the issue of the treatment of blacks and minorities by the criminal justice system as a whole.

Public relations people use the term “optics” to describe how something will look like to the outside world, and one of the problems is that police interactions and criminal justice interactions with minority populations suffer from poor optics.  When one group is disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system, regardless of the myriad of reasons for that, the optics look bad.

By Charmayne Schmitz

In closing arguments, Deputy District Attorney Brandon Finn told a jury: Beyond A Reasonable Doubt “is a term us lawyers come up with.”  This is the second trial where I’ve witnessed a Yolo prosecutor take liberties with the basis for a criminal conviction in our country’s judicial system.

Finn’s statement was at the tail end of a contentious 2-day trial. Pablo Campos was accused of driving with a suspended license after a traffic stop on March 30, 2012. Deputy Seja testified about pulling the vehicle over on I-5 to check for an expired registration. Mr. Campos was found to be the driver. The deputy issued a ticket for the expired license and the defendant signed it.

by Antoinnette Borbon

Wednesday was a short hearing for James Elron Mings in Judge Timothy Fall’s courtroom. James Mings, who was recently convicted of attempted murder, was back in court to hear whether or not Deputy District Attorney Martha Holzapfel will refile on the “pre-meditated” special findings, part of the case. Although the jurors could agree on attempted murder, they hung on the special findings part of the verdict.

James Elron Mings was arrested on October 1 of 2011 for the murder of his friend, Kevin Seery. Upon the viewing of the deceased by several law enforcement personnel and the coroner’s office, the death appeared suspicious. On the evening of October 1 they found a sock and other items in the mouth of Seery.