watchpaul: Another plea deal, more death

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Another plea deal, more death

◼ Hit-and-Run/Hoopa Homicide “Person of Interest” in Custody - Andrew Goff/The Journal

Jason Anthony Warren was arrested late afternoon on the day of the accident on earlier assault charges and is being held without the possibility of bail. Downey said no other suspects are currently being sought in the case.

◼ Murder, hit and run 'person of interest' Jason Warren is in custody on warrant - Times-Standard

Warren failed to show up for a Sept. 7 court date after entering into a plea deal to serve six years in prison for assault with a deadly weapon after he was arrested in April for robbery.

He was released on a Cruz waiver under the condition that he obeyed all laws, returned to court for sentencing and stayed away from the complaining witness in the assault.

”He was released prior to sentencing on the Cruz waiver, pursuant to the plea agreement,” said Deputy District Attorney Zachary Curtis in an email. “It is fairly common to release a defendant with something over his head to try to encourage good behavior, usually with probation cases.”

Warren had a previous felony that counted as a strike on his record. He also has a juvenile criminal record.

◼ Suspect Identified In Hit-And-Run & Hoopa Crimes - Humboldt Sentinel

After nearly a week of speculation as to a pair of investigations into the untimely deaths of local residents, Sheriff Mike Downey called a press conference this afternoon to clear the air and identify a “person of interest” in the cases.

“I know there’s been a lot of speculation…you got to understand why we’ve been holding back information,” he said.

Downey proceeded to explain that on the same afternoon as the fatal hit-and-run slaying of 40-year-old Bayside resident Suzanne Seemann on Old Arcata Road in Freshwater and the discovery of the body of 47-year-old Dorothy Ulrich of Hoopa in a residence there, law enforcement had taken 28-year-old Jason Anthony Warren into custody.

Warren was inside a home in Eureka at the time of his arrest; the Kia used in the hit-and-run which killed Seemann and injured 50-year-old Terri Vroman-Little and 41-year-old Jessica Hunt was found in Eureka earlier in the day.
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◼ Woman Found Dead In Hoopa - Andrew Goff/The Journal 9/27
◼ Car plows into 3 joggers, kills Bayside woman - Carrie Peyton Dahlberg.The Journal
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◼ A morning jog turns tragic; one woman killed, two others hospitalized in hit and run - Kaci Poor/The Times-Standard 09/28/2012

A 40-year-old mother was killed, and two other women suffered major injuries in a hit and run collision while jogging along Myrtle Avenue shortly before 6 a.m. Thursday.

Eureka residents Jessica Hunt, 41, and Terri Vroman-Little, 50, suffered major injuries and were taken to St. Joseph Hospital. Hospital spokeswoman Leslie Broomall said both women were in stable condition Thursday afternoon.

The Humboldt County Coroner's Office has not released the name of the Bayside resident and mother of two young children who died at the scene....
◼ More questions than answers in hit-and-run crash; Source: Person of interest in Hoopa homicide in custody - Grant Scott-Goforth/The Times-Standard 09/29/2012

Officials of the multiple agencies involved in the investigation are releasing few details on the search for the driver of the 2005 Kia Spectra who hit the women. They are also declining to comment on whether the hit-and-run is related to the homicide of Dorothy Ulrich, whose body was discovered in a Hoopa residence Thursday morning.

A source close to the investigations said that a person of interest in the Hoopa homicide is in custody, but it's too early to release the individual's name or further details due to the complexity of the case and to the multiple agencies involved....
◼ Seemann, Hunt and Vroman-Little: Three women shared a love for running - The Times-Standard 09/29/2012
◼ CHP: Person of interest ID'd in hit-and-run death; memorial service for Suzanne Seemann set for Saturday - Grant Scott-Goforth/The Times-Standard 10/02/2012
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◼ Three Joggers Down/Coroner Called/Accident in North Eureka - Kym Kemp/Lost Coast Outpost
◼ CHP Investigation Turns Up Dead Body in Hoopa. Connection to This Morning’s Fatal Bayside Hit-and-Run? - Hank Sims/Lost Coast Outpost
Three Joggers Down/Coroner Called/Accident in North Eureka
◼ Arrest Made in Hoopa Suspicious Death — No Word on Connection to Yesterday’s Bayside Tragedy - Hank Sims/Lost Coast Outpost
◼ Sheriff Dept. Releases Name of Suspicious Death in Hoopa—Calls It Homicide - Kym Kemp/Lost Coast Outpost 9/28
◼ Businesses To Support Bayside Hit & Run Victims and Families - Mike Dronkers/Lost Coast Outpost
◼ Sheriff’s Office Names ‘Person of Interest’ in Hoopa/Bayside Cases - Hank Sims/Lost Coast Outpost

_______________◼ Person Of Interest In Custody For Jogger Collision - Arcata Eye 10/12/12

Sheriff Mike Downey said the HCSO is leading the investigation and that the CHP, DA’s Office and Eureka Police Dept. are collaborating. Downey said he expects to file charges by the end of the week.

In a hastily called press conference this afternoon, Downey said that he was disclosing preliminary information in order to tamp down rumors and speculation on various online fora, much of it wildly inaccurate.

“Our sole purpose in holding back information, and coming forward, was to solidify our case and making a strong nexus between the two cases,” Downey said today. “We wanted to ensure that we could bring a strong case before the District Attorney’s Office.”

He made clear that no suspect is in custody, but that Warren is being investigated in connection with the Myrtle Avenue incident as well as the homicide of Dorothy Ulrich in Hoopa that same day. Downey said he knew of no personal relationship between Warren and Ulrich.

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◼ Person of Interest Named in Hoopa Homicide and Fatal Hit and Run - Two Rivers Tribune
◼ Woman Found Dead in Hoopa Home - Two Rivers Tribune
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ABSOLUTELY PREDICTABLE. How many more?

UPDATES:
◼ Humboldt County public defender to represent man accused of killing jogger, Hoopa woman; Warren could face the death penalty - Kaci Poor/The Times-Standard
◼ Letter regarding Gag Order/Protective Order, from Public Defender's Office - Arcata Eye
◼ Warren pleads not guilty to deaths of Humboldt State University instructor, Hoopa woman; judge grants gag order prohibiting attorneys, law enforcement from discussing case - Kaci Poor/The Times-Standard
◼ The man accused of killing a Hoopa woman and then later purposely running down three joggers on Old Arcata Road -- killing a Humboldt State University instructor and severely injuring two others -- has been charged with two counts of murder - Grant Scott-Goforth and Kaci Poor/The Times-Standard
◼ In the face of death: Special allegations change how a defendant should be represented - Kaci Poor/The Times-Standard
◼ CHP to DA: Jogger’s Death Was Murder - Heidi Walters/The Journal
◼ CHP requesting murder, attempted murder, animal cruelty charges in hit-and-run deaths - From the CHP via Times Standard
◼ CHP Recommends Murder Charge In Seeman Death - Arcata Eye
◼ District attorney's office opposing Cruz waivers following hit-and-run, homicide case; Experts: Move could harm ability to get pleas - Grant Scott-Goforth/The Times-Standard
◼ Who is Jason Anthony Warren? - Two Rivers Tribune

Paul Gallegos

The Humboldt County Grand Jury found that "Weak leadership and poor managerial practices" have undermined the office... Implicit in all evidence gathered by the Grand Jury - including interviews with the D.A. (Paul Gallegos) - is the unfortunate truth that the D.A. (Paul Gallegos) exhibits a limited understanding of how things are done in the department" Gallegos "lacks the global perspective needed to keep the department operating efficiently," and quotes an unnamed staff member as saying, "The D.A. (Paul Gallegos) does not fully understand the functionality of many of the things we do here" - Years later, in his own words: "I’m not an administrator, they didn’t elect me to be an administrator, they elected me to make sure this office runs..."

Douglas & Zanotti

CASE TOSSED The district attorney misrepresented the law and failed to provide evidence of former Eureka Police Chief David Douglas' and Lt. Tony Zanotti's innocence during a criminal grand jury inquiry into the 2006 shooting death of Cheri Lyn Moore, defense attorneys argued in court documents filed Thursday... ”Our judicial system stands as a real and necessary check on the grand jury indictment process,” one of the documents states. “This court has the authority and the means by which to halt this prosecution, which is justified neither by the undisputed facts, nor by the law.”

Gallegos has taken what was "arguably the state's best small DA's office, with a cutting edge CAST program that "trained the trainers"... into a bunch of time serving bureaucratic wannabee brown nosers, lightly sprinkled with a couple of earnest learners who are sure to split as soon as possible.

One weeps for Max Cardoza who won Angellel, and for Maggie Fleming who won so many impossible victories. Mired in Humboldt for personal reasons, they have to suffer the ignominy of working for Paul, with Yougo, yes, yougo who has freed more people as a prosecutor than he did as a defense attorney. As has Paul. Anonymous comment

Gallegos has answers for everything. I’ve never met anyone whose answers came so quickly, with such polish - except about his law school(s). He likely sounded the same way when promising to get prosecutors off their anachronistic “at will” status and onto civil service status. It never happened. Indeed, he told them, “Disloyalty will not be tolerated” – a real morale builder.

He sounds great. What progressive doesn’t want to believe in him? But it’s a myth. He’s an intellectual lightweight and self-aggrandizer who tries to please everybody with glib answers. Jim Fahey for The Arcata Eye

The Humboldt County DA's office is one of the most exciting prosecutorial
offices in California.

Its District Attorney, Paul Gallegos, is willing to charge anyone who commits
wrongdoing--no matter how wealthy, sacrosanct, or ruthless. He believes in total equality before the law. He also plans to be innovative in promoting programs of prevention and treatment. He wants to make it the best prosecutorial office of its size in the nation.... Gallegos' Help Wanted ad

Gallegos' OWN Quotes

★ ...District Attorney Paul Gallegos said he believes the statute of limitations clock, even on misdemeanors, doesn't start running until law enforcement knows or reasonably should have known of the offense. In this case, Gallegos said, that means the statute of limitations would not run out at least until Feb. 8, 2009, or one year after Gundersen's arrest and the discovery of the photographs in question...

★ "...some people actually molest out of different feelings, some times out of feelings of love....” DA Gallegos explaining why Child Abuse prosecutions were down

★ “I never said that the information was not available under the Freedom of Information Act. Quite the contrary, I informed you that our use of force policy is not a public record.” Paul Gallegos to the Times Standard 5/25/07

★ ...“One is that I do everything to make people happy which means I don’t stand for anything except for just something,” he said. “The other is I stand for something and I try to be a leader and take some people, a group of people, a community someplace and I say guess what folks, this is who I am. I stand for your beliefs. We share these beliefs or we don’t. You get the option to judge that. This is who I am and I am committed to leading us this place, wherever it is...." Eureka Reporter Gallegos defends record, looks ahead 7/3/2005

★ Note the difference between what he SAID, and what he DOES..."...So what are these issues? Top on Gallegos' list is the proliferation of "garbage cases," small-time crimes and overcharged cases that he said are clogging up the court system.

Garbage cases, said Gallegos, come in two forms: Cases that would lose if actually brought to trial and cases that are overcharged for the crimes committed. The idea behind filing both kinds of garbage, he said, is to get the defendant to plead guilty, netting a conviction without having to go into court.

Again, the IRONY is astounding! Look at what he SAYS, and then think about what he DOES! "Probably 95 percent of the cases that are filed plead guilty. In fact, there are a lot of cases that are filed on the assumption they will plead guilty, because of the time and expense involved in defending them. But these cases shouldn't even be filed in the first place, because if they were challenged, they would lose," Gallegos said. Better yet: If they weren't filed at all, it would save the county time and money...." North Coast Journal 2/21/02 Too bad he didn't take his own advice.

★ “Tim’s a stud,” he said. “He really is; anyone would be stoked to have him.” Gallegos on his second in command right hand man Assistant District Attorney Tim Stoen. (Former second in command right hand man to Jim Jones/People's Temple.)

NOTE:

"Helping Crush Progressivism" - ie: exposing the predatory litigious orgs and those who seek power for power's sake.... The original purpose of watchpaul is to post important documents relating to Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos and his handlers who seek to gain power through the acquisition of political offices. This includes, but is not limited to, the manipulations of "Humboldt Watershed Council," "EPIC," "Baykeeper," and other activist groups - the unregulated orgs. It also includes the master manipulators, such as Richard Salzman and Ken Miller.

Links to key stories and documents are also included in the sidebar, so that you do not have to try to scroll back through what has become a lengthy series of posts. I encourage you to use the Search and Labels features as well.

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Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Another plea deal, more death