On 4/25, homicide suspect Destinee Rhamy's case was on for trial confirmation and motion to compel discovery. The discovery motion was dropped from the calendar. The case file was not in court but jury trial was confirmed. Trial assignment is on 5/3; jury trial and motions in limine are scheduled for 5/6.
Rhamy is charged with the murder of her roomate Holland Elbik.
Kristen Audrey Wise was arrested yesterday by Eureka Police for PC664/187(a) attempted murder.
A Kristen Wise of Eureka sued the County of Humboldt and California Department of Health Care Services for delays in providing mental health services. I was the first one to report on that lawsuit.
This is the weekend, it is a very busy day Monday and a full day in court and the week is just as busy for the people who can confirm this is the same woman. I will update the post when I have additional information.
19 year old Viktor Ortega arrested by CalPoly Humboldt police yesterday for PC 422 criminal threats, PC 236 false imprisonment, PC 243.4 (a) sexual battery and PC 646.9 (a) stalking.
Ortega was arrested a day earlier on 4/25 for PC 647 (f) public intoxication and released from the jail per PC 849 (b) 2).
It has been verified. At 2:10 CalPoly Humboldt sent out a press release. 4: 44 update: "The offer for protestors in the buildings to leave with a guarantee of no immediate arrest has been extended to 5 p.m. Those who walk out peacefully by the deadline will not be immediately arrested and will be able to leave campus without being arrested. This does not, however, eliminate University conduct-related sanctions or legal implications. In addition, voluntarily departing in this way will be considered as a mitigating factor in University conduct processes and may reduce the severity of sanctions imposed."
John Provolt failed to appear in court yesterday for trial setting in his indecent exposure case.Trial setting was continued and a bench warrant for $10,000 was issued and held until that date. Ms. Andrea Sullivan is Provolt's attorney. Deputy District Attorney Candace Myers appeared on the case for the People. More details about the case in my April 11 post.
Former Humboldt Superior Court assistant operations manager Socorro Cervantes was arraigned today in the criminal case for her 2024 arrest. In the criminal case, Cervantes is charged with 6 counts which include two counts of burglary, one count of robbery, one count of petty theft, one count of evading a peace officer and one count of theft from elder or dependent adult. Alleged victim for four counts is William Edgar Puryear, alleged victim for petty theft count is Jeremy Michael Tout and the officer is not named in the complaint. Dates were also scheduled in her 2023 case. She had a bench warrant in that case and had failed to appear in court.
She has another 2024 lawsuit, a request for a temporary restraining order by Puryear was granted by Commissioner Sarah Kaber. There is a hearing scheduled on 5/17. Cervantes is a former tenant. Mr. Dustin Owens is Puryear's attorney in the civil lawsuit.
On April 25, 2024, at approximately 10:31 a.m., the Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call reporting a person had been shot in the 2400 block of Fern Street, Eureka. Deputies were immediately dispatched to the area. While deputies were enroute, it was learned that a White Male Adult walked up to a 75-year-old woman who was standing in front of her garage with her sister and shot at her multiple times. The woman was struck by gunfire, and the suspect fled on foot westbound on Fern toward Walnut Avenue.
On March 20, I did a post on a first amended qualified domestic relations order in ousted loser Gregory Kreis' divorce case. I regularly check cases I report on this blog and saw there were some new filings in that case.
Kreis is not only a sore loser; he is stupid. In his filings, Kreis says he will have no income as of May 27, 2024. Earlier this week, I wrote Kreis is going to be on vacation from 4/25/24 to 5/25/24 and not returning to Humboldt Superior Court. I have contacted the California Judicial Council with some initial questions about the resignation process of a judge and also specifically about Kreis.
Kreis' recent filings in his family law case alone show he is clueless, incompetent and dumb when it comes to the law, still in denial about why he lost the election and vindictive.
You can read in the court filings the claims he is making about Ms. April Van Dyke who beat him by a substantial margin in the March 2024 election; former Deputy Public Defender Rory Kalin who sued him and me for my coverage. People he could not intimidate and silence. I dont know his ex wife and divorces are messy but I do know him and have observed Kreis for over a decade. In addition to my own observations about Kreis, there is the behavior alleged in the 21 counts in the Commission on Judicial Performance and Kreis has been called a bully and worse by attorneys and others in the legal community for decades.
Kreis the unremorseful, don't yap in public spaces to multiple people about the CJP proceedings or your future or proposed personal and professional plans. If you are stupid enough to talk about stuff where anyone can overhear your conversations and who you are talking with, then don't be pissed at what people in a small community know about you or find out about you.
If you told multiple people, including attorneys yesterday that this is your last day in Humboldt court and something like you will still be around, then you should not be surprised if that information gets around and quick.
Is the information about you renting space for a law office near the Courthouse the truth or was it bait and a lie put out there by you or someone else for an ulterior motive? Whether you are renting an office is hard to verify because you may or may not be renting from an attorney or someone else "informally". There are several office spaces near the Courthouse. I did check 322 I street and the Carson building. I am not getting into more specifics right now about why I say that information maybe bait. Guess Kreis and those so curious about me and my reporting will have to wait.
The legal community all over California speculated weeks ago and said that you might try to earn money as a lawyer. The CJP, the judge in your family law case should investigate if that is in the works because it will either confirm or contradict you stating in a court filing that you lose all your income starting 5/27/24.
I don't know yet if the Commission on Judicial Performance has cut a deal with you and is negotiating with you but I hope they are paying attention. Looking at your actions and words since the notice of formal proceedings was posted, how will you behave once the CJP proceedings conclude?
Your not returning to Humboldt Superior Court as a judge speaks louder than any of your claims and denials. If you are so innocent as you claim, you would not have settled your lawsuit with Kalin. That is a claim you make but there has been no proof provided. If you cut a deal with the CJP, you are doing it to avoid more serious consequences.
Kreis the incompetent, you claim to be a judge and a lawyer. Those words next to your name are an insult to the profession. Why have you made allegations in these filings and referred to me with no proof about the claims and stated certain facts which are incorrect.
Kreis claims he does not read my blog. There is no way for me to know whether he does or not and therefore I will not make that claim. What I can say is that he is aware of what I write.
He knows I wrote about the email sent to court staff this week about him going on vacation and not returning. In his filings, Kreis referred to photos and his ex wife being at Ms. Van Dyke's celebration. I was the only one to cover that event and post those photos.
In these filings, Kreis claims that his ex wife Brenda Elvine made a letter available to the press, possibly a local blogger. Does he have proof that she provided that letter to "press" or a local blogger?
I was the only one who posted that letter written by his ex wife and the first one to post it. That letter was widely read and attributed to me.
By insinuating that I got it from his ex wife, Kreis has stated an untrue fact. I did not get that letter from Brenda Elvine and I have never had any contact with her. The first time I saw Brenda Elvine was at Ms. Van Dyke's election party and we did not speak. I have told numerous people including attorneys over years and months that she has never contacted me or spoken with me.
That letter was was in a motion for new trial filed by former Deputy Public Defender Rory Kalin's attorneys. I have been regularly covering that lawsuit and posted many court documents from that case.
Posting court documents is something I do on a regular basis on my blog. I also get other public documents just as I do election filings. It takes a lot of time, effort and going to obtain it in person but that is traditional shoe leather journalism. I do not ignore relevant news like other media nor do I care about anyone's status.
https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2024/02/in-deposition-kreis-ex-wife-of-30-years.html?m=1
Kym Kemp asked me for Kreis' ex wife's letter and permission to publish it on her site, RHBB.
Most of the local "press" has ignored covering Kreis until they were forced to after the CJP notice of formal proceedings and some of the "local" entrenched media did a sloppy job and were rightfully called out by the public. Kreis singled me out by unsubstantiated claims in this filing.
I wrote in that February 21, 2024 post,"Kreis is telling people that if his ex-wife talks badly about him and he loses income, that she is the one who won't get her money. "
From these recent filings, looks like Kreis is following through on that statement. The filings also confirm what I posted about him selling his house.
I am not going to post certain documents such as the income and expense declaration because it contains personal financial information and the names of Tanya Ellis' children who are minors right next to where he lists her as his "fiance." Kreis is so illiterate he can't even spell the word fiancee correctly.
There was a denial of the temporary order requested by Kreis on 4/19/24. Hearings keep getting vacated in the Kreis family law case but as of today, there was still a hearing scheduled on 5/20 for a permanent order regarding spousal support. After this post, an order was entered in e court and the hearing has been continued by stipulation to 5/30.
On April 15, I reported that Gerald McGuire did not want Michael Acosta as his attorney anymore in his lawsuit against County of Humboldt. On 4/19, Acosta was removed as counsel. McGuire is representing himself against Deputy County Counsel Thomas Chapin. 4/19 court minutes state that Retired Judge Christopher Wilson noted Acosta is unable to practice law. I had previously reported in one of my posts in Acosta's case that his conviction record had been sent to the California State Bar.
For a small police department, Rio Dell Police Department does a great job. They made an excellent choice to hire Chief Greg Allen. I hope he runs for Sheriff. As a former HCSO Sgt and someone I have seen in the field, in the courts, Chief Allen's experience, temperament and professionalism is what Humboldt needs.
I am not doing multiple posts just because a defendant has cases scheduled three times in a week. This isn't just for Brandon Widmark. It happens with other cases too. Widmark has picked up a new case which should have been filed in 2023. Yesterday, one of Brandon Widmark's 2023 cases was on calendar as well as a new fugitive from justice case filed against him in 2024. The latest case is for an outstanding warrant from Oregon.
Brandon Widmark was arraigned on 3/13/24, he waived identity hearing on 3/20 and the review hearing has been trailing the 30 day review of the extradition hearing has been trailing his other Humboldt case. That hearing has been continued to 4/26.
Yesterday, arguments were held on the defense 995 motion in one of Brandon Widmark's criminal case. 4/23 CR2301419A Brandon Widmark. People dismissed Ct 11 VC 20001 (b) (2) hit and run injury and will file an amended information. Ms. Rebecca Linkous Linkous said she filed a petition for mental health diversion. Judge Steven Steward said it was not in the court's file and it was not in e court as of 4/24. Judge Stewart's ruling on the 995 motion is on 4/26. A 5/7 hearing on motion for disposition of property is scheduled. Trial confirmation and jury trial dates in June remain as scheduled. There is another 995 motion scheduled on 4/29 in Brandon Widmark's other case.
On April 22, I did a post on a civil lawsuit filed against Brandon Widmark by Shawn Gallagher.
Deputy District Attorney Whitney Timm had not filed anything about retrying Nick Martinez; at least it is not in e court as of this morning. The case was scheduled yesterday for sentencing and trial setting. Judge Steven Steward denied Ms. Timm's request to continue sentencing. The DA is retrying Martinez on Count 1 and 4. There was a hung jury on those two counts. Martinez was found not guilty on Count 2 . The jury convicted Martinez on Count 3 and he was remanded into custody yesterday to serve 90 days with credit for 21 days; he was placed on probation for one year and has to register as a sex offender. Martinez is on no bail on Ct 3; bail bond remains in effect to Count 1 & 4. Ms. Andrea Sullivan is Martinez's attorney.
The hearing on Danco's request for a workplace harassment order against Aunna Bollman was already continued on 3/29. I am sure it will be continued again today. HCSO has been unable to serve Bollman. The hearing was continued again to 6/21. With 9 open cases and two additional cases in which restraining orders were granted, Bollman should never have been allowed to remain out of custody.
