Yolo County

This year the Vanguard is honoring eight individuals in this community and around the region who have put forth exemplary work in the area of social justice and justice reform.  Two of these individuals are honored posthumously.

It was a great honor that Steve Berlin worked as a member of the Vanguard Court Watch Editorial Board in 2011 until health conditions forced his resignation.  It was nearly a year ago that Mr. Berlin passed away at the age of 66.  On Saturday, we will present his wife, Linda Berlin, and his son, Eddie Berlin, with the honor.

It has been just over one year since a Sacramento federal jury acquitted three sheriff’s deputies of the 2009 shooting of Luis Gutierrez, a 26-year-old farm worker who was walking on Gum Avenue in Woodland in the middle of the day, after completing his efforts to get his driver’s license reestablished.

On October 21, 2013, Dale Johnson, who was the commanding officer during that incident, was promoted from lieutenant to captain.

I will confess that I am a relative later comer to the notion of restorative justice.  It was not until late 2011 and early 2012 that I was exposed to the idea when a group of citizens – Robb Davis, David Breaux, and Reverend Kirstin Stoneking – came to the Davis Human Relations Commission with the idea of promoting a restorative justice process, some sort of victim-offender mediation between the university and the students who had been pepper sprayed.

Ultimately, the proposal was unsuccessful.  The university was unwilling to engage in any sort of process with an ongoing lawsuit, and by the time the lawsuit was settled it seemed too late.  In retrospect, the process would have proven valuable and there are still deep wounds in the community that have come out as John Pike was awarded a worker’s compensation settlement.

By Kaiti Curry

The courtroom was packed as friends and family of the victims and the defendant anxiously watched the next proceedings of People v. Marsh. The defendant, 16-year-old Daniel Marsh, faces two counts of first degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon and several case enhancements.

Case enhancement A involves a special circumstance for multiple murders. The second case enhancement involves a special circumstance for heinous and depraved murder.

Last summer, when Davis Police found a noose hanging from the goalpost of the Davis High School Stadium, many in the community looked to Dr. Jann Murray-Garcia, a pediatrician by training who has become, for the better part of the decade, one of the consciences of Davis.

“Though we don’t know the motivation of whomever put the noose there, we are responding as one voice against the centuries of pain and terror that this symbol represents and still produces today in so many of our neighbors,” Dr. Murray-Garcia would write in her biweekly column in the Davis Enterprise that she co-writes with Jonathan London.

When Sandy Holman created the Culture Co-op in 1991, it was an organization whose mission it was “to promote understanding and respect for diversity and equity, cultural competency, literacy and a quality education for all.”

“After working in working in various jobs, I noticed that there was a lot of challenges to being effective in serving whatever the target population was,” Sandy Holman told the Vanguard.  She said this was due to the fact that there “was inequity in those institutions, there was a fear in those institutions, and there was a general disrespect for differences that almost followed a color-skin line.”

by Antoinnette Borbon

Santa Rosa is no stranger to gang-related crimes. As I sat through what will be yet another gang-related trial’s jury selection, it was nothing I have not heard before. It was merely a different location. I have covered a few prelims involving gang activity crimes and the infamous Wolfington trial. But in the words of the Honorable Kenneth Gnoss, the charges which involve gang enhancements still need to proven without reasonable doubt.

Gnoss explained to the jurors it is up to the DA’s office to prove their case by all of the evidence and it is not the responsibility of the defense. The prospective jurors had a few disagreements with the explanation. It was something I have never heard before and came from two prospective jurors. Two of the men on the jury panel had asked Judge Gnoss if the defendant would be testifying. He explained the defendant had the constitutional right not to testify. Both men told Gnoss they would have difficulty in deciding on a verdict if the defendant chose not testify himself. They went on to say they felt it would be hard to decide on a verdict if they were not able to listen to the defendant’s side of the story. Gnoss thanked them for their comments but asserted the defendant’s constitutional right.

A month ago Clayton Garzon copped to a plea in the case that arose out of his actions back in March when he severely beat Mikey Partida while yelling anti-gay epithets.  Mr. Garzon pled to battery causing serious bodily injury, and the hate crime enhancement.  He received what many believed to be a light sentence of five years local time, meaning he would be released in 2.5 years assuming good behavior – with no further supervision.

At the time, not only were we worried about the lack of equal justice in that sentencing, but also the lack of mandatory services that Mr. Garzon would be required to receive.

By Dan Williams

Thursday brought the closing arguments in a gun case that puts the justification of a gun-carrying law in Yolo County to the test.

If you’re not familiar with the case, here’s a rundown of what happened.

By Kaiti Curry

Last Friday on October 18, after nearly two weeks of emotional, highly-sensitive testimonies and grueling questions to hash out the details of the allegations, the twelve-member jury found the defendant, Kevin Ellis, guilty of molesting two young boys over a five-month period. After several hours of deliberation, the jury found the 55-year-old man from Dixon, California, guilty on eight of nine counts as they delivered the highly-anticipated verdicts.

Counts 1 through 6 involved lewd or lascivious acts upon a child under fourteen years old, Count 7 regarded the defendant’s failure to register as a sex offender, and Counts 8 and 9 involved giving marijuana to a minor under fourteen years old.

The Vanguard Court Watch 3^rd Annual Dinner & Awards Ceremony has been set for Saturday, November 9^th at the Davis Veterans Memorial Center starting at 5PM.  The theme this year is “Restorative Justice & Reforming the Judicial System.”

We have an exciting line up that you won’t want to miss including Public Officials of the Year Assemblyman Ammiano who will speak on his “Innocence Project Bill” AB 604 and Public Defender Jeff Adachi will speak on Indigent Defense 50 years after Gideon v. Wainwright. We also have Fresno County Judge David Gottlieb, who is our Keynote Speaker and who will speak during the Restorative Justice Education portion of the event and talk about a restorative justice program he has implemented in his courtroom.   This year we will honor award recipients:

By Jeffrey Briggs

During the pre-trial hearing in Department 1, the judge granted Deputy Public Defender Dan Hutchinson’s motion to suppress the blood extraction results taken from Maria Cardenas, but denied the second motion filed by Mr. Kartoon, on behalf of the co-defendant, Robert Domingo, to suppress other evidence on the basis of unreasonable search and seizure.

The hearing began with the arresting officer, Officer Hemdree, taking the stand. Hemdree’s testimony recounted the events of May 13, 2013, that led to the arrest of Mr. Domingo and Ms. Cardenas for possession of methamphetamine.

By Sanam Monjazeb

The case of People v. Michael Perez continued on Friday morning as Judge Stephen Mock ruled on the defendant’s sentencing (back story on Perez). Perez, who was convicted of second-degree murder in 2001, filed a plea agreement after his case was overturned in 2010 and was sent back to Yolo County.

The defendant pled no contest to the charge of second-degree murder and received a 15-to-life sentence, plus an additional three years. The law would mandate Perez to pay a $700 restitution fine, but the People requested an even greater amount of about $33,000.

By Catherine McKnight

The further jury trial continued in People v. Ellis on Wednesday morning. The People rested their case and Deputy Public Defender Joseph Gocke presented his evidence and sole witness, Dr. William O’Donohue.

Dr. O’Donohue is a professor at the University of Nevada and has received his PhD in clinical psychology. He is the director of the Victims of Crime Treatment Center in Nevada and is also a member of several other boards and organizations. Judge Stephen Mock allowed Dr. O’Donohue to testify as an expert witness in areas such as childhood memory, human sexuality and childhood development.

by Antoinnette Borbon

James Mings, who was convicted of attempting to kill his terminally ill friend Kevin Seery, will not be having another trial after all.

Deputy District Attorney Martha Holzapfel and Deputy Public Defender Dan Hutchinson reached a stipulated resolution that would avoid a second trial on whether or not Mr. Mings committed his act with premediation, after a jury could not reach a unanimous decision in the first trial.

When James Mings was alleged to have murdered Kevin Seery, Davis had its first murder trial in years.  However, a strange thing happened on the way to that attempted murder conviction – evidence emerged in the trial that Mr. Mings, while intending to kill Mr. Seery and perhaps believing he did kill Mr. Seery, ultimately was not the one who did kill Mr. Seery.

That revelation should have left both the police and district attorney’s office with egg on their face, as they never charged the accomplice with murder, and, now this week, they will be attempting to salvage the case that probably more resembled assisted suicide than murder by getting Mr. Mings on the premeditation determination that would affect the length of Mr. Mings’ prison sentence.

by Antoinnette Borbon

A much thinner young man these days was Daniel Marsh, who was brought into the courtroom today to hear whether or not the defense was ready to set a definite date for trial. Mr. Marsh, who is charged with the deaths of two elderly people in South Davis, will stand trial soon for the alleged crimes. He has pled not guilty.

Daniel Marsh, 16, has been charged with double homicide. On April 14, 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.

By Kaiti Curry

As day two of trial continued in People v. Ellis, Judge Stephen Mock and fifteen jurors heard from both victims.  Defendant Kevin Ellis could very well be facing life in prison if the jury finds him guilty of the multitude of charges against him.

While there was some confusion regarding the timeline of events and the sexual acts which occurred, the foundation of the allegations were testified to by both Child Doe One and Child Doe Two.

By Catherine McKnight

A graphic jury trial began on Wednesday morning under Judge Stephen Mock in the case of People v. Ellis. The court heard from key witnesses, including the stepmother and father of Child Doe One. The day ended with testimony from Child Doe One.

Kevin Ellis has been charged with nine counts total. Counts one through three involve lewd and lascivious acts to the child who will be referred to as Child Doe One, counts four through six involve lewd and lascivious acts with Child Doe Two, and the remaining counts involve failure to register as a sexual offender and administering marijuana to a minor.

by Antoinnette Borbon

Monday ended the lengthy preliminary hearing of a woman accused of a violation of probation. Judge David Rosenberg held Laura Glover to answer for the three misdemeanor counts. But he not only held her to answer, he remanded her into custody after listening to testimony of two deputies, a security guard, and the defendant herself, talk about the incident that took place in a campsite on  May 31, 2013.

The woman was charged with resisting and delaying an officer, corporal punishment on a child, and being under the influence of alcohol while on felony probation. Judge Rosenberg dropped the false information charge.