God help us!

I thought I'd be through posting about Jeffrey "yougofree.com" Schwartz, and that he would quietly return to private life, but no such luck. He's decided to stay in the limelight and opine on the ridiculous "incident at Avalon." His theory seems to be that Arkley wasn't really threatening Glass, he was really threatening the entire City Council by threatening Glass (not allegedly threatening, mind you).

I really couldn't stand to read it all the way through, so if any of you can decipher it, let me know. I kinda had to skim down to where he says: "That's why we need to vet this with local jurors and locally elected judges who care about what the voting public thinks."

Uh, Jeff, judges aren't SUPPOSED to CARE what the voting public thinks. They're supposed to care about this little thing called THE LAW, NO MATTER WHAT the voting public thinks. Read Schwartz's "My Word"

Goodbye Jeffrey "yougofree.com" Schwartz

Today was Schwartz's last day in the Humboldt County DA's Office. This is a good thing. 'Bout goddam time.

Remember, Under Gallegos the DA's Office has "lost:"
DDA Zach Bird
DDA Jose Mendez
DDA Ed Borg
DDA Worth Dikeman
DDA Frank Dunnick
DDA Eamon Fitzgerald
DDA Heather Gimle
DDA Paul Hagen
DDA Nicole Hansen
DDA Shane Hauschild
DDA Andrew Isaac
DDA Allison Jackson
DDA Harry Kassakian
DDA Elizabeth Norton
DDA Murat Ozgur
Patrick Pekin
DDA Amanda Penny
DDA Gloria Albin-Sheets
Jennifer Strona
DDA Andy Truitt
DDA Nandor Vadas
DDA Rob Wade
Bill Rodstrom
PLUS:
Investigator Chris Andrews
Investigator Chris Cook
Investigator Jim Dawson (retired)
Paul's secretary Gail Dias
Office Manager Linda Modell
Investigator Eric Olson
Investigator Kathy Philp (retired)
Investigator Dave Dave Rybarczyk
Investigator Dave Walker
FROM CAST:
Child Interview Specialist Laura Todd
Senior Legal Secretary Melissa Arnold
Alternate Child Interviewer Jennifer Maguire

And, of course: Schwartz and Stoen.

Question, still, is "Who's left?"

Answer:
Maggie Fleming, Max Cardoza, Wes Keat, Stacey Eads (on leave),
Allan Dollison, Arnie Klein, Jeff Schwartz,
Mary McCarthy, Davina Smith and Randy Mailman (the newest hire)

Two deputies leave DA's Office 3/8/2007
Update: 6/12/2007
County Counsel Kim Kerr - Longtime employee of the county takes job in Ione

8/12/07
Like Stoen leaving, this is good news... "yougofree.com" Jeffrey Scwhartz is leaving the DA's Office, going in to private practice (No surprise since he has had his "practice" listed in the phone book for the better part of a year, while acting as a prosecutor, which should be a big no-no.) 8/31/07, yougofree.com is gone.

1/2008 Davina Smith moves to the County Counsel's Office.

9/25/08 Deputy District Attorney Kelly Neel, who has been handling the (Belant) case, will be leaving the office for another job at the County Counsel Office, Gallegos said.

1/5/10 Kathleen Bryson, hired and reputedly fired by Gallegos, is now running against him... ◼ Local attorney throws hat in the ring for DA

Maximium penalty for Garza?

Garza was charged with — and pleaded not guilty to — nine counts of felony sodomy with a person under 18, eight counts of felony unlawful sexual intercourse and two counts of oral copulation with a person under 18.

In a plea agreement he accepted in the end of April: one count of unlawful sex with a minor — commonly referred to as statutory rape — one count of unlawful oral sex with a minor and admission of a probation violation.

The "menace to society" got four years and four months in prison — with more than 386 days served

Return of Garza & ANOTHER plea deal

Garza jailed on sex charges
Almost one year after being arrested in the March 2006 Whitethorn kidnapping/rape case, one of the defendants was arrested on numerous felony charges involving his alleged sexual relations with a 16-year-old girl....

...As of Wednesday, court documents indicate that Garza is currently charged with — and has pleaded not guilty to — nine counts of felony sodomy with a person under 18; eight counts of felony unlawful sexual intercourse; and two counts of oral copulation with a person under 18....

...On Wednesday, Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Schwartz, who is prosecuting the case, said, “Basically, the charges (against Garza) are based on statutory rape” and that Garza and the alleged victim “were kind of going out.”...

...“The classic term (for having sex with a minor) has been jail bait and if you’re having sex with a minor, you go to jail.”...

But not if you tie her to a tree for three days, and rape her repeatedly. Then you get a "GET OUT OF JAIL FREE" card.

Which is what got us here in the first place...
***

Yeah, this is yet another one to watch. Along with the case in Fortuna.
***
UPDATE:
Garza accepts plea agreement
On the day he was to confirm his trial date, Nate Robin Garza accepted a plea agreement.

Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Schwartz said Garza, 22, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of unlawful sex with a minor — “which is commonly known as statutory rape” — one count of unlawful oral sex with a minor and also admitted to a probation violation.

Garza’s probation stems from a March 2006 Whitethorn kidnapping/rape case.

Schwartz said Monday’s agreement is “an open plea,” which means a judge will determine whether to sentence Garza to the maximum prison sentence of “four years, four months” or to the “minimum penalty of probation.”

Garza’s case stems from “consensual” sexual relations with a then-16-year-old girl between Dec. 20 and Jan. 5, Schwartz said.

Initially, Schwartz said, Garza was charged with — and pleaded not guilty to — nine counts of felony sodomy with a person under 18, eight counts of felony unlawful sexual intercourse and two counts of oral copulation with a person under 18.

Garza was arrested Feb. 19, almost one year after being arrested in connection with the Whitethorn kidnapping/rape case.

In September, Garza was sentenced to three years of formal, supervised probation for a plea agreement of false imprisonment he accepted with two other defendants with regard to the Whitethorn kidnapping/rape case.

Garza’s twin brother was sentenced to eight years in state prison for a plea agreement of false imprisonment, kidnapping and marijuana trafficking he accepted in connection to his involvement in the Whitethorn case.

The four men were initially accused of kidnapping and raping a woman in Whitethorn in March after a debt to Garza’s brother was not paid.

According to past testimony, the Whitethorn victim claimed she was kidnapped for two days and tied to a tree in Whitethorn for 24 hours.

Update:
Sentencing continued in statutory rape trial 5/21/2007