◼ Salas guilty of murder - Grant Scott-Goforth/The Times-Standard
Ryan Anthony Salas showed little emotion, shaking his head softly at times, as a jury Friday found him guilty of the 2010 shotgun slaying of Jack Dale Sovereign.
Salas -- also convicted Friday on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, conspiracy to commit burglary, and conspiracy to commit robbery -- was one of four defendants implicated in Sovereign's death.
Prosecutors alleged that Salas, Nathan Nix, Katrina Inong and Sonia Hunsucker conspired to commit a home invasion robbery targeting a safe at a Santa Clara Street home on the outskirts of Eureka. The robbery attempt was thwarted, according to prosecutors, when the four arrived to find Sovereign sitting in a pickup truck in the home's driveway.
At that point, witness accounts seem to vary, but prosecutors have stated their belief that Nix, Inong and Hunsucker were abandoning the robbery attempt when Salas, armed with a shotgun, approached Sovereign and shot him in the face.
...Inong pleaded guilty to a voluntary manslaughter charge in December 2010.
...Hunsucker had agreed to testify as part of a deal with prosecutors, but after pleading guilty to an unrelated killing -- the second degree murder of Darrell Hanger in Willow Creek in 2011 -- and receiving a sentence of 15 years to life in prison, Hunsucker refused to testify.
...Nix ...reached a plea agreement... faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison for the voluntary manslaughter charge.
_______
And so justice is done.
Showing posts with label Nathan Nix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nathan Nix. Show all posts
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Saturday, August 04, 2012
While Gallegos said he expects Inong to be able to continue her testimony in the case, if she is medically unable to retake the stand, it could pose a large problem. ”That could be a mistrial,” Gallegos said.
◼ Murder trial disrupted by medical emergency; if seizure prevents witness from testifying, mistrial could be in order
◼ Murder trial disrupted by medical emergency; if seizure prevents witness from testifying, mistrial could be in order - eus Greenson/The Times-Standard
◼ Murder trial disrupted by medical emergency; if seizure prevents witness from testifying, mistrial could be in order - eus Greenson/The Times-Standard
Friday, August 03, 2012
Hunsucker refusing to testify in Sovereign murder trial; DA's office had agreed to not prosecute if she testified
◼ The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office agreed not to prosecute Hunsucker in the case and to dismiss a possession of stolen property case against her in exchange for her testifying honestly in the prosecutions of Inong, Salas and Nathan Nix, who were all accused of being involved in Sovereign's shooting. - Grant Scott-Goforth/The Times-Standard
Nix and Inong have pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in relation to the case and are awaiting sentencing. Both face up to 11 years in prison.
Hunsucker has since pleaded guilty to an unrelated killing -- the second degree murder of Darrell Hanger in Willow Creek in 2011 -- and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
Hunsucker is being held in the county jail on contempt charges for her refusal to testify, and District Attorney Paul Gallegos, who is prosecuting the Salas trial, said that he will call her as a witness every morning until his case rests.
”It's my position that her refusal to testify constitutes a breach,” Gallegos said.
He said that the court ruled Hunsucker “made herself unavailable,” and her prior sworn testimony will be admissible in court.
◼ A 'nightmare in this community'; Sonia Hunsucker was allegedly involved in two homicides and a violent robbery in 12 months. Did prosecutors miss a chance to keep her behind bars? - Thadeus Greenson/The Times-Standard
...Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos called Hunsucker a “nightmare
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in this community,” telling jurors that she had helped plan the robbery after noticing a safe in the Santa Clara Street home a couple of days before. Further, Gallegos said, Hunsucker went with one of the defendants and another woman -- Katrina Inong, who has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the case -- to procure the shotgun used to gun down Sovereign.
While prosecutors allege it was Salas who pulled the trigger that morning, Gallegos told jurors that Inong, Nix and Hunsucker were all willing participants in the botched robbery.
”They are all a part of this,” Gallegos said.
But not all of them are on trial. Gallegos' office agreed not to prosecute Hunsucker in the case and to dismiss the possession of stolen property case against her in exchange for her testifying honestly in the prosecutions of Inong, Salas and Nix.
At the time of Sovereign's killing, Hunsucker was no stranger to law enforcement. In fact, she'd just been released from state prison 65 days earlier, on March 28, 2010, according to California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Ashley Caldwell....
The events raise questions about whether Darrell Hanger's death could have possibly been prevented if Hunsucker had been charged with Sovereign's murder. Conceivably, she would still be sitting in jail, just now standing trial with Salas and Nix. Would that have changed anything? She apparently didn't fire the bullets that killed Darrell Hanger, and testimony in the murder trial hasn't claimed she was the instigator or mastermind of the botched burglary that led to the shootout. But, would Surber -- the apparent shooter -- have been at Ryan Hanger's house that night if Hunsucker, his girlfriend, weren't there?
The questions are unanswerable.
Speaking generally, Gallegos said his office takes the decisions associated with handling these types of prosecutions very seriously but doesn't have the luxury of seeing into the future.
”Unfortunately, we don't have a crystal ball when we're making decisions -- we have to make these decisions with the information we currently have,” he said. “We have to make a decision based on the immediate threat -- which is having a murderer on the street and trying to get enough evidence to charge that murderer and get them off the streets. The costs associated with that are what you see.
”... Sometimes we make decisions that go terribly wrong, or tragically wrong, but at the time we are not operating with a crystal ball that allows us to look into the future,” he said.
Nix and Inong have pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in relation to the case and are awaiting sentencing. Both face up to 11 years in prison.
Hunsucker has since pleaded guilty to an unrelated killing -- the second degree murder of Darrell Hanger in Willow Creek in 2011 -- and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
Hunsucker is being held in the county jail on contempt charges for her refusal to testify, and District Attorney Paul Gallegos, who is prosecuting the Salas trial, said that he will call her as a witness every morning until his case rests.
”It's my position that her refusal to testify constitutes a breach,” Gallegos said.
He said that the court ruled Hunsucker “made herself unavailable,” and her prior sworn testimony will be admissible in court.
◼ A 'nightmare in this community'; Sonia Hunsucker was allegedly involved in two homicides and a violent robbery in 12 months. Did prosecutors miss a chance to keep her behind bars? - Thadeus Greenson/The Times-Standard
...Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos called Hunsucker a “nightmare
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in this community,” telling jurors that she had helped plan the robbery after noticing a safe in the Santa Clara Street home a couple of days before. Further, Gallegos said, Hunsucker went with one of the defendants and another woman -- Katrina Inong, who has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the case -- to procure the shotgun used to gun down Sovereign.
While prosecutors allege it was Salas who pulled the trigger that morning, Gallegos told jurors that Inong, Nix and Hunsucker were all willing participants in the botched robbery.
”They are all a part of this,” Gallegos said.
But not all of them are on trial. Gallegos' office agreed not to prosecute Hunsucker in the case and to dismiss the possession of stolen property case against her in exchange for her testifying honestly in the prosecutions of Inong, Salas and Nix.
At the time of Sovereign's killing, Hunsucker was no stranger to law enforcement. In fact, she'd just been released from state prison 65 days earlier, on March 28, 2010, according to California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Ashley Caldwell....
The events raise questions about whether Darrell Hanger's death could have possibly been prevented if Hunsucker had been charged with Sovereign's murder. Conceivably, she would still be sitting in jail, just now standing trial with Salas and Nix. Would that have changed anything? She apparently didn't fire the bullets that killed Darrell Hanger, and testimony in the murder trial hasn't claimed she was the instigator or mastermind of the botched burglary that led to the shootout. But, would Surber -- the apparent shooter -- have been at Ryan Hanger's house that night if Hunsucker, his girlfriend, weren't there?
The questions are unanswerable.
Speaking generally, Gallegos said his office takes the decisions associated with handling these types of prosecutions very seriously but doesn't have the luxury of seeing into the future.
”Unfortunately, we don't have a crystal ball when we're making decisions -- we have to make these decisions with the information we currently have,” he said. “We have to make a decision based on the immediate threat -- which is having a murderer on the street and trying to get enough evidence to charge that murderer and get them off the streets. The costs associated with that are what you see.
”... Sometimes we make decisions that go terribly wrong, or tragically wrong, but at the time we are not operating with a crystal ball that allows us to look into the future,” he said.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Another murder trial
◼ Two people arrested in connection to Eureka death; both charged with murder
Ryan Anthony Salas, 24, and Katrina Lanai Inong, 27, were both charged with murder in the June killing of Jack Dale Sovereign.
Sovereign was murdered in front of a residence on Santa Clara Street during the early morning hours of June 1, 2010. Deputies responded to the Eureka residence in the early morning and found Sovereign dead at the scene. He was 38 years old.
Sheriff's Detectives found a shotgun that is believed to be the murder weapon as well as other evidence in a wooded area near Myrtle Avenue and Mitchell Road. The Sheriff's Office won't say how Sovereign died.
The Sheriff's office also obtained an arrest warrant for a third man also believed to be involved. Nathan Nix, 40, is currently in custody for violating his parole, and will be transported back to the Humboldt County jail for the murder charge.
A preliminary hearing date of Aug. 11 has been set for Salas and Inong.
◼ Myrtletown homicide victim ID'd; officials seeking four for questioning about Santa Clara Street killing 6/03/2010
The victim of a killing outside Eureka Tuesday had a long criminal record, including the attempted murder of a 62-year-old man during a burglary in 1991.
Ryan Anthony Salas, 24, and Katrina Lanai Inong, 27, were both charged with murder in the June killing of Jack Dale Sovereign.
Sovereign was murdered in front of a residence on Santa Clara Street during the early morning hours of June 1, 2010. Deputies responded to the Eureka residence in the early morning and found Sovereign dead at the scene. He was 38 years old.
Sheriff's Detectives found a shotgun that is believed to be the murder weapon as well as other evidence in a wooded area near Myrtle Avenue and Mitchell Road. The Sheriff's Office won't say how Sovereign died.
The Sheriff's office also obtained an arrest warrant for a third man also believed to be involved. Nathan Nix, 40, is currently in custody for violating his parole, and will be transported back to the Humboldt County jail for the murder charge.
A preliminary hearing date of Aug. 11 has been set for Salas and Inong.
◼ Myrtletown homicide victim ID'd; officials seeking four for questioning about Santa Clara Street killing 6/03/2010
The victim of a killing outside Eureka Tuesday had a long criminal record, including the attempted murder of a 62-year-old man during a burglary in 1991.
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