Things are not ok at the Harbor District.

They weren't ok before the election, which should have opened a window onto the issues. The problems have not gone away, and all the protestations to the contrary by sitting Harbor Commissioners will not stand up to the test of time.

And it's not just Greg Dale's glaring conflict of interest.

More to come.

Ho-ly sh-t! - UPDATED

UPDATED:

◼ Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

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☛ ER Doe 1 speaks out, files complaint
The complaint, authored by Gundersen’s wife (Doe 1), alleges that the HCSO and District Attorney’s Office violated her civil rights, falsely imprisoned her on Feb. 8, coerced a statement out of her that day and conspired to imprison Gundersen.

“There’s a whole other side to this story,” Doe 1 said in an interview Wednesday. “I just thought I need to get this out.”...

As a result of Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Bruce Watson’s decision to allow testimony from Gundersen’s ex-wife Monday, and other compounding events since Feb. 8, Doe 1 said she felt the truth needed to be told.

“I’m the only person who can do that,” she said, “because David can’t be heard.”...

In the four-page complaint sent to the Humboldt County Grand Jury and both the California and U.S. Attorney General’s Office, Doe 1 wrote how a custody battle turned into a conspiracy against her husband.

“I felt I was entrapped and coerced,” she said. “I think someone else should review this.”...

Much of the complaint described in detail what Doe 1 had testified during Gundersen’s preliminary hearing in April, which included how she “felt coerced” into giving statements about non-consensual sex by her husband during a seven-hour interview on Feb. 8 that she couldn’t walk away from.

The District Attorney’s Office had to subpoena Doe 1 to the stand, as she had no intention on testifying.

Doe 1 added in the complaint that she answered questions “sarcastically,” such as telling the three HCSO investigators interviewing her that Gundersen had non-consensual sex with her 365 times when asked if he ever did.

During the preliminary hearing, Doe 1 testified that Gundersen had non-consensual sex with her at least once a month between 2005 and 2007.

As Doe 1 testified before, she had no intention on pressing any charges against Gundersen and merely wanted to talk about police assistance if anything got out of control between the two.

Doe 1 also wrote about events leading up to that encounter with law enforcement.

Sometime in December 2001, Doe 1 wrote that Gundersen’s ex-wife told her that he had raped her and it would happen to her as well.

Events happened in the summer of 2007, Doe 1 wrote, moved Gundersen to file for full custody of his children. At that point, Gundersen’s ex-wife hired Joan Gallegos, wife of Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos, to represent her in the family matter.

By the time Jan. 28 rolled around, Doe 1 wrote she wanted a separation with Gundersen.

On that day, Doe 1 wrote that Gundersen’s ex-wife told her she could use Paul Gallegos’ willingness to prosecute Gundersen for allegedly raping her in the past as a way to get rid of Gundersen — this after Joan Gallegos allegedly talked with him about it.

“I believe this was a conspiracy between (Paul Gallegos), his wife and (Gundersen’s ex-wife) in an attempt for (Gundersen’s ex-wife) to gain full custody of the kids,” she wrote. “Her plan worked.”...

Joan Gallegos issued a denial.

☛ TS Gundersen's wife alleges misconductby law enforcement
In a letter sent to a variety of agencies Wednesday, former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen's wife is accusing the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office and the Sheriff's Department of civil rights violations, police coercion, false imprisonment and conspiracy...

From the outset, Gundersen's attorney Russell Clanton has contended the investigation and charges took root in an ongoing and bitter custody battle between Gundersen and his ex-wife. Gundersen's wife's letter, which she said she mailed Wednesday to the Humboldt County Grand Jury, the Attorney General's Office and the United States Attorney's Office, echoes that claim.

In the five-page letter, Gundersen's wife, Jane Doe 1, wrote that she told an investigator on the day of Gundersen's arrest that she hadn't been raped and, at times, contradicts the testimony she gave under oath during Gundersen's preliminary hearing.
Reached Wednesday, District Attorney Paul Gallegos said he doesn't see Jane Doe 1's letter having any impact on Gundersen's case.

”Those agencies that have received this, if they feel it's appropriate they will investigate, and they will have all the information,” Gallegos said, adding that his office hasn't committed any of the offenses alleged in the letter. “(Jane Doe 1) is a victim and she's been victimized, but not by us.”...

In the letter, Jane Doe 1 claims that she “sarcastically” answered investigators' questions during an interview on the day of Gundersen's arrest, that investigators would not let her leave and that, prior to Gundersen's preliminary hearing, “numerous threats were made including arrest.” She claims was told she didn't have the right to not testify in the case.

Jane Doe 1 also states her belief that Gundersen's ex-wife was behind the entire investigation.
”I believe (his ex-wife) set me up,” she writes.

According to the letter, Gundersen and his ex-wife hold a lot of animosity toward each other after a bitter divorce and an ensuing battle over custody of the couple's two children.

Jane Doe 1 states that Gundersen's ex-wife, an employee with the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department, told her in 2001 that she believed Gundersen had raped her while the two were married -- claims the ex-wife has also made to a court investigator, DA investigators and, most recently, on the stand in a pre-trial hearing in Gundersen's current case.

”Over the years she said things to me, to the effect that Dave would eventually rape me too,” Jane Doe 1 writes in the letter.
According to the letter, things started to come to a head on Jan. 28, when Jane Doe 1 claims Gundersen's ex-wife called her and said she had repeated her rape allegations to her divorce attorney Joan Gallegos -- the wife of District Attorney Paul Gallegos.

”(Gundersen's ex-wife) told me that Joan told her she had discussed the rape with her husband Paul and that he would be willing to prosecute Dave for rape if she wanted,” Jane Doe 1 writes. “(Gundersen's ex-wife), knowing that I wanted a separation from Dave due to our own marital problems, told me that we could use the fact that the (district attorney) was willing to press charges on Dave to get him to leave the county. (Gundersen's ex-wife) and I spoke many times this same day because I was not OK with her blackmailing him.”...

Jane Doe 1 writes that she learned from her psychiatrist after the preliminary hearing that the effects of Lunesta are light and not so intoxicating as to make her unable to give consent. She also reiterates her belief that this whole case has spawned out of Gundersen's custody battle with his ex-wife.

”I have told the DA, Paul Gallegos, several times that I believe this was a conspiracy between he, his wife, and (Gundersen's ex-wife) in an attempt for (Gundersen's ex-wife) to gain full custody of the kids,” Jane Doe 1 writes. “Her plan worked. Dave was arrested on Feb. 8 and she had an order of full custody on the 11th.”...

Joan Gallegos said the conspiracy allegation simply doesn't make sense, as neither she, her client nor Paul Gallegos have benefited in any way from the case.

For his part, Gallegos said the case will simply have to play out in court.

”I've seen what she's written, but I don't know the motivation behind it or the actual author of it,” he said. “We understand she's afraid and we understand the dynamics of these types of cases.”

UPDATED:

◼ Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

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Judge rules, Open the Can - UPDATED

UPDATED:

◼ Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

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☛ TS Gundersen's ex-wife to testify
☛ ER Ex-wife’s testimony will be heard
Superior Court Judge W. Bruce Watson ruled Monday that testimony from the ex-wife of former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen will be admissible.

Previous post: Opening the can of worms
Related coverage, with links

UPDATED:

◼ Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

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Opening the can of worms - UPDATED

UPDATED:

◼ Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

****

If District Attorney Paul Gallegos has his way, David Gundersen's ex-wife will testify when the former Blue Lake police chief stands trial for allegedly raping his current wife with the use of an intoxicant.
Superior Court Judge Bruce Watson is expected to hear arguments Friday on a motion Gallegos filed with the court seeking to admit testimony of alleged sexual offenses against his former wife.

☛ TS Gallegos asking for Gundersen's ex-wife to take stand 7/23/08
Related coverage, with links

Update: ☛ ER Ex-wife’s testimony will be heard
☛ TS Gundersen's ex-wife to testify 7/29/08

UPDATED:

◼ Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

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Retrial dredges up past for longtime Fortuna residents

After a fifth motion to grant Kesser a new trial:

FORTUNA -- An old dusty box in Police Chief Kris Kitna's office is a reminder of the past.

A reminder of a crime that shook the Friendly City over a decade ago and is about to be rehashed in a lengthy retrial.

”This is something we thought was over,” Kitna said in a recent interview.

Jury selection is under way in the homicide retrial of Richard Craig Kesser and Jennifer Gayle Leahy, who allegedly hired Stephen Duane Chiara to kill Kesser's estranged wife in 1991.

Mary Kesser's body was found Nov. 26, 1991, in her N Street home with more than 30 stab wounds.

Chiara was arrested the next day when he was found hiding in Kesser's closet. Kesser and Leahy were arrested Dec. 10, 1991.

”It really affected a lot of people,” Kitna said. “Stuff like that doesn't happen here.”

Since the Kesser killing, there have been two other homicides in Fortuna, Kitna said. One was deemed self-defense, and the other was a murder/suicide pact between an elderly couple.

Kitna worked the case as a sergeant, along with Officer Cliff Chapman. They are the only officers currently on the force who were there when the killing occurred.

Kitna said that Mary Kesser was well known in Fortuna and that the brutality of the crime against the young mother rocked the community.

”This was a good person who got killed,” Kitna said. “This wasn't a drug deal gone bad or something like that.”

Rhonda Rael, who provided “gavel to gavel” coverage of the 1992 trial for the Times-Standard, said in a recent interview that it was who Mary Kesser was that sent shock waves through Fortuna and the county.

”It was particularly sad because she was an innocent victim and a young mother,” Rael said. “I remember Terry Farmer (the district attorney at the time) told me she fought. She fought back.”

After the killing, police offered counseling for officers and residents, Kitna said.

Police were alerted to the case when a relative called and said Mary Kesser didn't pick up her then 4-year-old son from the baby sitter.

Police found the body and the investigation began.

Mary Kesser's son still lives in the area, Kitna said, and is going to college.

Richard Kesser and Leahy were linked to the crime through phone calls made to Chiara's mother and friends in Sonoma County.

The alleged motive for the killing was Mary Kesser's $50,000 insurance policy.

All three of the accused were convicted in December 1992 by a seven-man, four-woman jury. They were sentenced in 1993.

In September 2006, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Richard Kesser and Leahy a retrial after finding that former Deputy District Attorney Worth Dikeman rejected potential jurors “on the basis of their race, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.”

Dikeman has denied the finding.

The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office estimates jury selection, which began last week, will take another three weeks. The trial is estimated to last three months.
Retrial drudges up past for longtime Fortuna residents
Chris Durant, The Times-Standard 07/16/2007

It was Thanksgiving week.

Ahhh, there is news after all!

News on both the Kesser case AND the Moore case.

Today, Friday, is day 456 - A year plus 91 days later, and still no decision from Paul Gallegos.

Gallegos: Retrial will 'likely' delay Moore decision
Chris Durant/The Times-Standard 07/13/2007

Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos said Thursday that it's “highly likely” the retrial he's currently picking a jury for will further delay a decision on whether to file criminal charges against the Eureka Police officers who shot and killed a woman during a standoff in 2006.

Last month, Gallegos told the Times-Standard he wouldn't be pressured into a decision regarding the April 14, 2006, shooting but that he wanted to come to a conclusion before the end of the retrial -- now projected to last into October.

Cheri Lyn Moore, 48, had a known history of mental illness when police stormed her Eureka apartment during a two-hour standoff in which she was seen brandishing a flare gun. It was the first in a series of police involved shootings.

Gallegos has blamed a “bottleneck” in his office for the lack of a decision in the Moore case.

”Again, it's very frustrating,” said Eureka Police Chief Garr Nielsen, who was hired after the shooting. “It's an open wound on the department and the community.”

Nielsen said he couldn't understand the delay and that there has been sufficient time to make a decision.

”It's certainly as important as anything else on his desk,” Nielsen said.

The attorney representing Moore's family, W. Gordon Kaupp, said in an e-mail that a delay in the criminal decision will delay action on the civil suit filed in late May against the city, the Eureka Police Department and individual officers.

”Although the depositions in the federal civil rights action will likely not take place sooner than three months, if he continues to keep the decision regarding the criminal case in limbo it will cause great disruption to the civil case,” Kaupp said.

“There is no reason for not being able to come to a decision about this in one year. I can think of no other murder that took a district attorney's office so long to make a decision about filing charges, convening a grand jury, or announcing that no charges will be brought,” he said.

Jury selection began this week in the retrial of the 1991 homicide case Gallegos is prosecuting. The trial is estimated to last three months.

OK, so that's the excuse for this week. But today, Friday, is day 456 - A year plus 91 days later.
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Update: Kesser case
Retrial drudges up past for longtime Fortuna residents

For example...

If Gallegos himself decides to prosecute the Kesser case - will he be able to call all of the witnesses who testified at the previous trial?

Debi August was one of the witnesses.

Conflicts of interest

Murder retrial begins Monday

Gallegos should not be involved in the Kesser case. He should give it to Max Cardoza, or another qualified Deputy DA in the office, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the politicization of this case during the election.

Case in point:
Elections should focus on the good record of candidate
5/27/2006
Dear Editor,

I realize that in writing this letter it is not helping my cause in trying to keep my family’s name and the circumstance regarding my son’s 14-year-old trial out of public scrutiny. That is not possible now, as Ellie Bowman and Madison Ayala have taken it upon themselves to pass out fliers in front of the Courthouse regarding this case.

They have not taken into consideration, nor have they contacted me as to how this would affect my feelings or the feelings of my grandson, whom I have been raising since this tragedy.

They state that this is not politically motivated. Why then, after this length of time, have they taken it upon themselves to bring anything about this case up now? Yes, Mr. Worth Dikeman was the prosecuting attorney in the case and yes, he obtained a conviction and yes, it is something I have to live with every day, but he was doing the job he was appointed to do and I will never fault him for that, not as it seems Ellie Bowman is doing because of the conviction of her son.

During the trial and for all the years that have gone by, Mr. Dikeman has shown me and my family the greatest respect and compassion. He has shown interest in how my grandson was doing in school, how I was doing and always had a great concern for our family. I doubt if there are many attorneys on either side who do that. I deeply resent the fact that to win an election people have to use tactics that can hurt other people instead of running on their supposedly good record.

Joanne Kesser
Fortuna
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There are other serious conflicts as well.
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Update:
Retrial drudges up past for longtime Fortuna residents