Vigilantism is not, no scratch that... Universal justice is not universally popular

◼ Gallegos campaign ad, I mean, "My Word"

◼ Universal justice is not universally popular
Paul V. Gallegos/For the Times-Standard
Posted: 06/24/2010 01:37:11 AM PDT

I want to send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who made our spring campaign a success. It would not have been possible without each and every one of you who volunteered, donated and endorsed. Thank you for all you have given and the many hours of hard work and dedication you selflessly gave over the last several months. It is the sum of your very efforts that made our campaign successful.

I am grateful for the votes and affirmation I received, and to those who did not vote for me, I want you to know that I have heard your voices and I intend to redouble my efforts to earn your votes in November.

Joanie and I moved here about 15 years ago, and fell in love with this remarkable community. Eight years ago I ran for district attorney on a platform of Justice For All -- including those historically neglected by the justice system such as children, victims of domestic violence, people of color, and victims of corporate fraud -- and for modernization. It's hard to believe now, but when I inherited the office, criminal case information was kept on index cards-- not computers.

Since then, my office has aggressively prosecuted the powerful -- even when it's been unpopular. My office prosecuted Maxxam/PL on evidence of fraud. We prosecuted Blue Lake's police chief for multiple felonies including illegal weapons. We prosecuted an oil company and won a major settlement to protect our drinking water.

But universal justice is not universally popular, and some would rather go back to how things used to be. This would be a mistake.

When I came to office, the murder of Blue Lake teen Curtis Huntzinger was still unsolved after 18 years. It was presumed to be unsolvable. But my investigators cracked the case and obtained a full confession from his murderer, Steven Daniel Hash.

During the campaign, one of my opponents made the disturbing accusation that I had let a child abuser off with a slap on the wrist. It was odd because she, under the previous office, had handled the case back in 2000, and should have known the original sentence was overturned on appeal; my office had to re-prosecute it anew in 2004, and the perpetrator was sentenced to eight years in prison.

I'll be the first to admit how much I've learned in the past eight years. Delivering justice to all is not easy. Behind the big publicity stories are thousands of small success stories and dozens of daily tragedies. We can't bring back loved ones -- but we can prosecute to the full extent of the law with the best evidence we have, which is what we do.

We cannot go back to how things were; the improvements and progress we've achieved over the last eight years are simply too precious to give up.

I ask for your support on my campaign as we move toward a November victory. For more information, go to votepaul.org.
Paul V. Gallegos is the Humboldt County district attorney.

Where to begin.

His own words...

★ "...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.

"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.

Times-Standard editorial - Paul Gallegos

☛ TS Gallegos' case management

Humboldt County and its District Attorney Paul Gallegos have been through a lot together. When Humboldt County voters decided to oust longtime incumbent Terry Farmer in favor of the young surfer DA, it was with an eye on cultivating some fresh blood and adding an infusion of vigor and energy in the District Attorney's Office.

It was hoped that Gallegos would bring a new perspective, and challenge that status quo.

Gallegos has done that -- he's challenged entrenched powers, and he's certainly shaken up things in Humboldt County.

The problem, though, is that nearly every major undertaking by Gallegos has ended in failure, and with each of those has come a colossal waste of time and resources, as well as an increasingly divided community.

Whereas it was initially hoped that Gallegos would bring the community together by progressively representing the bulk of the county's voters, instead he has sponsored division and rancor in nearly everything he's touched.

The case against Pacific Lumber Co., which led to a huge battle in the community that included a recall effort against Gallegos? Dismissed. The case against Fortuna Councilwoman Debi August? The same.

The case against former Chief Dave Douglas and Lt. Tony Zanotti? Dismissed.

In hindsight, we fear that with each of these cases, Gallegos has tried to live up to his own progressive legend at the expense of critical thinking.

At times, Gallegos tries to hang major cases on legal minutiae, or rarely cited bits of law, that leave other legal scholars scratching their heads. Given the preeminence of his position, and the fact that he's gambling with public chips, he needs to proceed much more carefully in his remaining time in office.

He has wasted resources, directing attention away from his office's main task -- criminal cases -- and woefully divided the community with very little if anything to show.

This newspaper endorsed Gallegos in his last election, a decision we stand by given his competition at the time. But our support, and that of the public, will be much harder to earn the next time around, given that Gallegos sometimes appears too interested in attracting headlines for filing major cases that he almost invariably loses.

If he doesn't change his stripes and fast, a loss at the polls for Gallegos may be the only victory he can secure for the rest of us.

SoHum Parlance - Times Standard tears into Gallegos
heraldo - T-S gives Gallegos too much credit

California Bar Journal

***URGENT UPDATE/ALERT! This case was TOSSED by the Judge - never made it to trial,
☛ ER http://eurekareporter.com/article/080826-judge-throws-out-douglas-zanotti-case
Feeney said the indictments the grand jury handed down to Douglas and Zanotti in December 2007 weren’t supported by probable cause. Insufficient evidence regarding the former leaders’ alleged failure to oversee other law enforcement was also presented to the grand jury, Feeney said, and instructions given on “exigent circumstances” were inadequate.
The grand jury should have also been instructed on justifiable homicide by law enforcement officials, Feeney said.***

Misconduct charges for 3 prosecutors
In three disciplinary cases pending before the State Bar Court, current or former deputy district attorneys are charged with committing acts of moral turpitude and disobeying the law. The bar alleges that two of those charged withheld exculpatory evidence.

Fascinating.

Gallegos' withholding of critical evidence in the Douglas/Zanotti persecutions fits into that category, as does what happened with Debi August. Wonder if there is a statute of limitations on these things.

Must read: Deadfall

Deadfall By Robert Scott

This is about a Humboldt/Mendocino County serial killer, John Annibel. Victims? Debbie Sloan, and suspected victims: Georgina Pacheco, Sherry Lynn Smith and Andrea LaDeRoute.

A post by the author on Lisa LaDeRoute's Court-TV message board:
In 1980, according to the Fortuna, California, PD, John Annibel murdered his girlfriend, Andrea LaDeRoute. This was Lisa's 20 year old sister. In 2002, some of Andrea's remains were found on land where Annibel once worked. The Fortuna PD in 2004, handed all of its evidence over to the Humboldt County DA's office, and said that John Annibel is the only suspect in the murder of Andrea LaDeRoute. Since that time, the DA's office has failed to move forward on this case, and will not return any calls of Lisa's questions about the status of the case. This is very much out of the norm in other counties and other cases, where the DA's office is always looking for publicity in a high profile case.

As she seeks information, and asks that her sister's remains be returned to the family for burial - the message board includes letters to Gallegos - one is very clearly a public records act request, yet it does not appear that he complied with that request. Haven't finished reading the LENGTHY threads, will update as I go.

On 03-30-2006, Robert Scott also mentions "many aspects in common as to motive, the actual murders, evidence found and disposal of bodies, that link in a backward chain from Sloan to LaDeRoute to Smith. The evidence is not things that we have uncovered - but rather what trained, professional detectives uncoverd in their investigations. Why the Humboldt County DA's office has not seen fit to pursue the cases in the murders of LaDeRoute and Smith remains a mystery.

In closing, here is just one instance of the frustration that Lisa has had to face over the years. In the May 29, 2005, issue of the Eureka Times Standard, they did an article on Humboldt County cold cases. Chris Durant was the journalist, and from what I've read in the past by him, he seems to be a competent and knowledgeable reporter. So it is unfathomable, why the following paragraphs of the article are so contradictory. Here are the exact words as written.

"In May 2003, DNA led to the closing of a Fortuna homicide. The remains of Andrea LaDeRoute were found by foresters marking trees on Pacific Lumber Co. property near Carlotta in August 2002. LaDeRoute was last seen in 1980 and her live-in boyfriend at the time, John Annibel, was arrested. But LaDeRoute's body was not found and there was not enough evidence to charge Annibel at the time.

"When DNA tests on blood found at their shared apartment matched LaDeRoute, Annibel was charged. He was already in custody in the California Department of Corrections and serving a life sentence, for the murder of Deborah Sloan in Laytonville in 1998.

"The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office said it has received a report from the Fortuna Police Department, but charges have yet to be filed."

So - in paragraph one - DNA supposedly led to the closing of the case.

In paragraph 2 - Annibel was charged.

In paragraph 3 - charges have yet to be filed."

Related:
NCJ 12/17/98 Unsolved mysteries link? - A man accused of murdering a Laytonville woman may also be linked to the deaths of two Humboldt County residents dating back 20 years.

John Annibel, a 41-year-old Fort Bragg resident, was arrested in Mendocino County Dec. 4 and charged with murdering 42-year-old Deborah Sloan. Sloan's nude body was spotted by Mendocino County road workers Nov. 30. The suspect had apparently met the slain woman just prior to her death.

Annibel is now being questioned by Humboldt County investigators about the 1976 rape and strangulation of Sherry Lynn Smith and the 1980 disappearance of his then live-in girlfriend, Andrea LaDeRoute. Annibel was initially a suspect in both unsolved cases, although no charges were ever filed against him.

In 1976, when Annibel was 18, he was questioned in connection with the death of 15-year-old Smith, who disappeared after going to a dance in Garberville. Her body was later found in Myers Flat, where Annibel's family lived at the time.

Annibel lived with DeLaRoute in Fortuna when he was 22 and she was 20. He reported her missing March 18, 1980. Her body was never found.

Blood evidence from the 18-year-old case taken from the couple's apartment will now be tested for a possible DNA match, a procedure that was not available in 1980.

Annibel continues to deny any involvement in either woman's death.

***

NCJ 9/23/99 Murder suspect convicted - A 42-year-old Fort Bragg man, a prime suspect in two unsolved Humboldt County murders, was convicted of first-degree murder by a Mendocino County jury in connection with the death of a Laytonville woman, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported last week.

John Annibel's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 8 in Mendocino County Superior Court.

Humboldt County authorities have tried to link Annibel to the murder of Andrea La DeRoute, who turned up missing at age 21 from her Fortuna home and hasn't been seen since her disappearance in 1980.

Four years before, Sherry Lynn Smith, 15, was raped, strangled and found dead on the property where the Annibel family lived near Myers Flat. In both cases, authorities said they couldn't develop sufficient evidence to charge Annibel in connection with the slayings.

Meanwhile, authorities are looking into a new case that appears to be a homicide of a white female. The woman identified as June Lawson, 19, of Redway, was found at Holbrook Grove State Park north of Redway on Redwood Drive at 9 a.m. Sunday, the sheriff's department announced.

***
The story of Lisa LaDeRoute's efforts to find justice have taken many years.

***
UPDATE:
◼ Mendocino Sheriff’s Office Finds Killer of (Georgina Pacheco) Young Woman Who Died in 1988 - lostcoastoutpost.com 7/16/2013

Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has listed Robert James Parks as the suspect in the murder of Georgina Pacheco and has closed this cold case.

(On July 21, 1998, Parks telephoned a family member and advised that he was going to commit suicide by by sinking his fishing vessel in the Long Beach Harbor. Authorities from Long Beach Harbor were notified and located the sunken fishing vessel. Parks’ lifeless body was recovered from the ship.)

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.

FROM THE LAST DAY of THE DEBI AUGUST TRIAL

I hesitate to call it a trial, because this "trial" never made it to the Jury selection process.

Stoen's pattern seems to be to try his cases in the public, in the media, in a usually successful attempt to get his prey to settle to avoid court costs and further embarrassment. In both his cases in Humboldt County, people stood up to him and his cases were dismissed outright without ever making it to trial. One called "Smoke and Mirrors" and worse. Had Debi August not stood up to him, she would have been another notch on his belt. Instead he was exposed.

The information contained in this DECLARATION and its 19-page attachment reveals that:

The DA (Paul Gallegos) and ADA (Tim Stoen) told the Grand Jury that everything would remain secret if they went forward with the accusation.

They assured them that witnesses would not be identified.

Gallegos and Stoen disclosed confidential Grand Jury information without the permission or notification to the Grand Jury.

Gallegos and Stoen affirmatively sought the release of the information they assured the Grand Jury was totally protected by "attorney client privilege."

Stoen expressly told the Grand Jury that he was "their attorney."

Stoen waived the attorney-client privilege he had promised the Grand Jury against the wishes of the Grand Jury, but in favor of his office which clearly had a conflict in the matter.

The grand jury accusation process was being run by the DA (Gallegos) and ADA (Stoen).

Gallegos did not seal the record after promising the Grand Jury that he would nor did he advise the Grand Jury that he didn't seal it.

The Grand Jury felt that "The Grand Jury was badly used and misled by the DA and ADA and that the mishandling of the entire accusation process undermined the integrity of the Grand Jury System in Humboldt County."

The entire text of this declaration and the 19 page attachment are posted here as the FIRST COMMENT. To read it, click comments.