Yolo County

I was not always sold on the innocence of Ajay Dev.  It was the summer of 2009 when I received an email from Mr. Dev’s sister-in-law about the case.  Mr. Dev had just been convicted, and he had not yet been sentenced to the stunning 378-year sentence.

Little did I realize that this would be a pivotal moment in my life, as I headed out to the Roseville home of the Devs and heard their story.  I didn’t know what to think, I had not seen the case, had not heard the evidence, and I was in a position of having to take their word for it.

In February, the State Bar of California filed disciplinary charges against a Yolo County attorney for allegedly failing to comply with ethical rules while seeking judicial office. Clinton Parish, 41, is accused  by the California Bar of making misrepresentations about himself and his opponent in the May 2012 election for Yolo County Superior Court.

According to the complaint, in May of 2012, Mr. Parish was seeking judicial office against incumbent Judge Dan Maguire when, through campaign advertising, he made a number of misrepresentations regarding his opponent.

Three years after the conviction of Ajay Dev for the multiple counts of rape of his adoptive daughter and his sentence of 378 years to state prison, he and his attorney have filed their appeal.

Their appeal attacks both the facts of the case as well as the legal rulings used by Yolo County Judge Timothy Fall that the defense claims denied Ajay Dev of his right to a fair trial.  This includes, most notably, the inclusion of the alleged victim’s interpretation of a 50-minute pretext call that meandered between English and Nepali, the judge’s failure to properly instruct the jury on the law, and the judge’s refusal to allow potentially exculpatory evidence.

by Ibrahim Baig

People v. Johnathon Timothy Ganthner is a case about sexual abuse, torture, and violence, according to Deputy District Attorney Robert Gorman.

Ganthner’s charges include a sexual act with a child, torturing another person, and abusing/endangering the health of a child.

Three years after the conviction of Ajay Dev for the multiple counts of rape of his adoptive daughter and his sentence of 378 years to state prison, he and his attorney have filed their appeal.

Their appeal attacks both the facts of the case as well as the legal rulings used by Yolo County Judge Timothy Fall that the defense claims denied Ajay Dev of his right to a fair trial.  This includes most notably the inclusion of the alleged victim’s interpretation of a 50-minute pretext call that meandered between English and Nepalese, the judge’s failure to properly instruct the jury on the law, and the judge’s refusal to allow potentially exculpatory evidence.

by Vanguard Court Watch Interns

Glynn Trial 1^st Day Testimony

The trial of Michael Glynn began on Thursday, March 14. He was arrested on December 9, 2012 for stealing an $83 bottle of whiskey from a Davis grocery store. He was seen on two dates in November on the store’s surveillance video, taking the same whiskey with no evidence of purchase.

Deputy District Attorney Sulaiman Tokhi opened the People’s case, stressing that Glynn has three prior prison terms. Deputy Public Defender Richard Van Zandt reminded the jury that prior convictions cannot be used to find guilt in this case.

by Alexandra Rose

On the morning of Monday March 18, 2013, in Department 2 of the Yolo County Superior Court, the sexual abuse case of Julian Marquez was set to start under the Honorable Timothy L. Fall.

Julian Marquez was charged with 10 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor and 1 count of attempting to commit lewd and lascivious acts with a minor.

by Antoinnette Borbon

The day began with a lot of confusion over a mistake made by the court clerk in not notifying both parties about what courtroom defendant James Mings’ arraignment was to take place.

Defense attorney Dan Hutchinson mentioned this case has been before Judge Richardson in Department 1 but somehow ended up in Department 6 today. Neither Dan Hutchinson nor Deputy District Attorney Martha Holzapfel understood why they had not been notified about the change.

When a crash on I-5 in Woodland on August 8, 2011 left three people dead and seven others with injuries – some very serious – the Yolo County District Attorney’s office put the blame on “one man and one man only,” Gubani Roderico Rosales Quinteros.

The 42-year-old faced three felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.  The defense attorney, Chief Deputy Public Defender Allison Zuvela, called the crash a tragic accident and nothing more.   At the same time, she noted the poorly planned freeway construction zone that may have played a role.

by Ibrahim Baig

It was a short trial for Ricardo Munoz this week. The trial concluded yesterday with closing arguments.

Deputy District Attorney Diane Ortiz reiterated to the jury that this case is a simple case. Ortiz walked the jurors through each charge and explained how the People have met the criterion for a guilty verdict.

By Vanguard Court Watch Interns

Kevin McCarty’s trial came to a close on Monday afternoon, when the jury found him guilty of misdemeanor resisting arrest and obstructing a public officer. He was found not guilty of the other counts, including battery of an officer, battery of another person, and a hate crime.

In the early morning hours of May 18, 2012, Mr. McCarty had been celebrating his 21st birthday at Tres Hermanas in Davis when he got into a bar fight with an acquaintance. The victim was identified as a Sikh and wears a turban. During the commotion, the victim’s turban was knocked off when Mr. McCarty took a swing at him. Mr. McCarty, who had blacked out, later refused to cooperate with police. In attempts to restrain him, police slammed Mr. McCarty to the ground and he was knocked out.