Yolo County

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.

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!”

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 …”

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.

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.

In the end, after a three-day preliminary hearing, Judge David Rosenberg held Clayton Garzon to stand on all charges for his brutal attack on Mikey Partida back in early March.  However, the standard of proof to be held over on charges is fairly low – the probable cause standard.

To gain a conviction in a court of law, one needs proof beyond a reasonable doubt.  And so while it sounds good when attorney Linda Parisi told the court Mr. Garzon had no way of knowing that Mikey Partida was gay, it was not enough to overcome the facts of the case in which witnesses testified they heard Mr. Garzon yelling “faggot” and other epithets as he beat Mr. Partida.