Court Watch

David Snyder, UCD Man Suspected of Possessing Explosives, Arraigned Thursday

by Antoinnette Borbon

Just outside the courtroom of Department 9 this afternoon, the streets were lined with vans from all of the local news stations, eagerly waiting to report on the arraignment of David Scott Snyder. Snyder is accused of making explosives in his apartment with stolen chemicals from the University of California at Davis, where he worked. He was living at the Russell Park Apartments and worked as a research assistant at the university.

The courtroom was filled with video cameras to witness the arraingment. Judge Janet Beronino explained the charges to the defendant in detail. He sat in his seat with a pretty calm demeanor, his left arm wrapped from the injury sustained in the explosion inside his apartment. Deputy Public Defender Jessica Graves requested bail be set at the pre-conference hearing February 8th, in Judge Reed’s courtroom. Bail was suggested to be set at 2 million dollars but will more than likely be denied due to the defendant being a “flight risk,” prosecution stated.

In addition to the keynote speech by Sujatha Baliga on “Restorative Justice and Dr. King’s Infinite Hope,” the Davis MLK Day presentation featured a panel discussion on “New Jim Crow,” featuring introductory remarks by UC Davis Professor Tilhun Yilma and a panel comprised of Sasha Abramsky, Cruz Reynoso, Joe Schwartz and Bernita Toney.

The discussion was based on the concept of “The New Jim Crow,” as defined in the book by Michelle Alexander, dealing with the mass levels of incarceration in the US – which has 25% of the world’s prison population despite only having 5% of the world’s total population.

By Dan Oney

The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center announced the release of “The Impact of Probation and Parole Populations on Arrests in Four California Cities.” The study, which was funded by the Public Safety Performance Project of the Pew Center on the States, the Public Welfare Foundation, the Fund for Nonviolence and the Rosenberg Foundation, answers one question that to date has been a matter of speculation among law enforcement and corrections officials everywhere: to what extent do people on parole and probation contribute to crime, as measured by arrests?

The Chiefs of the Los Angeles, Redlands, Sacramento, and San Francisco Police Departments commissioned the analysis in 2010. The 3.5-year timeframe covered in the study, which concluded in June 2011, immediately precedes the implementation of the state’s Public Safety Realignment Act, which commenced in October 2011.

Restorative Justice Process Enabled Grieving Mother to Meet Her Daughter’s Killer – Linda White is a retired college professor, whose 26-year-old daughter was raped and murdered 25 years ago by two 14-year-olds.  Ten years ago she did what many people would think was unthinkable – through a restorative justice process, she sat face to face with one of the assailants and spoke about the ending of her daughter’s life.  She would ultimately forgive him.

How she came to do that and how the process works was the subject of an hour-long phone interview the Vanguard had with Ms. White last year.  Following the MLK Day event in Davis this week, it seemed this was the appropriate time to publish Ms. White’s remarkable story.

Man Faces 40 Counts Including Vehicular Manslaughter

By Vanguard Court Watch Interns

People v. Gubani Roderico Rosales Quinteros began Tuesday, January 22, with a heavy discussion. Before a trial can begin, the court reviews motions. Some of these motions request to omit evidence.

Mr. Quinteros is charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, among numerous other charges. His other charges include burglary, forgery and perjury.

Vanguard Court Watch of Yolo County is seeking applications from members of the community to become committee members for a newly-formed Vanguard Court Watch Council.

By Catherine McKnight and Antoinnette Borbon

On Friday, January 18, 2013, the further jury trial for People v. Sonne continued. Thaddeus Sonne is being charged on a count of rape by force, pertaining to an incident that occurred in downtown Davis on the night of August 16, 2012.

Deputy Public Defender Dan Hutchinson presented a case that raises more questions about whether a jury can reasonably come to a verdict that this was rape by force, or if this really was a consensual matter between two intoxicated young adults.

By Stephanie Yang

Day two of the Medel trial revealed several pieces of evidence that sheds light on the three different burglaries that occurred in the summer of 2011 in Davis. Witnesses who confirmed the evidence included police officers and detectives from the city of Davis, and bystanders from the time of the burglaries.

On July 14, 2011, at the time of the defendant’s arrest, the police found the defendant’s SUV filled with property. This was the same dark-colored SUV with the same license plate that was reported to be at all three burglaries.

by Antoinnette Borbon

On August 16, 2012, two 20-year-old residents of UC Davis started partying by the pool and later ended up in downtown Davis for “Thursday Night Party Night.” After drinking enough alcohol to reach more than double the legal limit for driving a motor vehicle, the two young adults decide to end their evening at the bar/restaurant called Our House near the train station.

Two Davis police officers responded to a call near Tres Hermanas in downtown Davis, also near the train depot.  While they were on the scene, a bystander told them there was a couple that appeared to be engaged in sexual intercourse near the train tracks.

By Vanguard Court Watch Interns

The trial of People v. Jimmy Medel began on Tuesday, January 15 with opening statements by Deputy District Attorney Johnson and Public Defender Olson. Mr. Medel is charged with 3 counts of residential burglary in Davis, during the summer of 2011. One incident occurred on June 22 and the others on July 13 and 14.

A similar, dark-colored SUV and portions of the license plate number were identified by witnesses in all 3 incidents. Several of the witnesses saw a Hispanic male removing items from the homes and leaving the crime scenes.

This past week, the local newspaper featured an article on one of the top professional skaters in the world, Nyjah Huston, who also happens to be a native of Davis.  Mr. Huston, who just turned 18, is using his fame to help people less fortunate than he.

Writes the Davis Enterprise, “In 2008, Nyjah and his mother Kelle Huston formed a nonprofit called Let it Flow, which raised enough money to build a well in Ethiopia. Now, the Hustons have a new Indiegogo.com campaign that aims to raise funds by Jan. 18 to build four more wells in African countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.”

By Dan Aiello

Citing California Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, Jr.’s veto last session of a bill that would have allowed reporters access to prisoners protesting conditions within the state’s 33 prisons, reform advocates called on judges, legislators and news media to ignore Brown’s claim that the state’s prison crisis “is over.”

The Brown administration began the week in court with a motion before the 9th Circuit Federal to vacate the population cap imposed on the state’s overcrowded prisons, citing the state’s realignment plan as evidence the cap is both dangerous and no longer needed.

By Vanguard Court Watch Interns

Steven Lopez, an inmate at the Yolo County Jail, had his sentencing hearing this past Friday, January 11^th. He has been charged on four counts, mainly pertaining to theft and unauthorized use of vehicles. While the counts he has been charged with are not something to be particularly curious about, this case embodies the stigma all too often placed upon these “criminals.”

While in custody, Mr. Lopez started hysterically crying to Judge Mock of Department 3. Although I am certain this is not uncommon in the courtroom, it is cases like this that shed light on the indisputable truth that many people seem to forget – that those in custody are human just like the rest of us.

Editor’s Note: Every week, the Vanguard Court Watch of Yolo County sends a number of interns into the Yolo County Court in Woodland.  Beginning today, we will be publishing some of their accounts of what they have observed.

Many of these are collaborative efforts and will be published under the byline of Vanguard Court Watch Intern.  Others will be published under the intern’s individual name.  This feature will at least be published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Governor Brown Issues Poignant Demand to End Federal Oversight of California’s Prisons- “The prison emergency is over in California,” Governor Jerry Brown declared during a pointed press conference on Tuesday.

He told reporters, “California is a powerful state, we can run our own prisons.  And by God, let those judges give us our prisons back.  We’ll run them right.”