In the last Humboldt County election, Paul Gallegos was criticized not because plea bargains were being made but how Paul let criminals off easy and abused the process.
Covering the courtroom now on a pretty regular basis, I see plea bargains being made. Each case is individual but I would have to agree with the above criticism.
While waiting to see the outcome of another case in Courtroom 1 with Judge John Feeney presiding, I heard a case being called and remembered it from previous coverage. Neal Sanders was representing Elmy Workman and Luke Brownfield for the people. Workman was supposed to be sentenced today. The case had a plea bargain negotiated.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Allison Jackson today and found out why. Ms. Jackson was representing the victim and the victim's family in this case. They were objecting to the plea bargain and had not seen the pre-sentencing report.
Mr. Sanders objected and asked that his client be sentenced this afternoon, Mr. Brownfield had no comment. He said he was not in court when the change in plea occurred. Mr. Gallegos was present that day.
Judge Feeney provided Ms. Jackson with the pre-sentencing report, Ms. Jackson will now advise the family of their rights and they will address the court regarding this matter.
Maybe Paul should not be letting his Deputy District Attorneys speak for decisions he makes and is responsible for as the DA. Will this plea bargaining par for the course mentality change when a new District Attorney is elected?
I think any of the 4 DA candidates would be a better choice than our present DA. Prosecutors should not be defense attorneys. The only ones sorry to see Paul go will be criminals and defense and private attorneys who do quite well under the current administration.
Seeing Allison Jackson in court reminds me of what a powerhouse attorney and prosecutor is like and every day in court you see former prosecutors who worked for Paul now thriving in private practice.
Background information:
According to an Arcata Police Department Press Release, on May 29th, 2012, at approximately 6:45pm, officers responded to the Mad River Community Hospital on the report of a woman arriving at the emergency room that had just been stabbed.
After further investigation it was determined the stabbing had taken place in the 500 Blk of G St in Arcata. The suspect and victim knew one another and had been involved in an ongoing dispute. The victim attempted to flag down the suspect to speak with her adult son who was in the vehicle. When the suspect and victim pulled their vehicles' off the roadway, the discussion turned to an argument. During the argument, the suspect slashed the victim across the abdomen with a knife, resulting in a moderate injury requiring hospitalization.
Elmy Arely Workman, 33 of Arcata was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for a violation of penal code section 245(a)(1), Assault with a Deadly Weapon
According to the Arcata Eye, The victim, a Blue Lake resident, has a child in common with the suspect’s son.
Dokweiler said a “road rage” encounter on Samoa Boulevard resulted in the disputants pulling off on G Street, where the alleged attack occurred.
Allan Dollison here. This is a good post, John, and worthy of a serious debate. This is what I have said. This election is not about who was the best Deputy, since at one time we all simultaneously worked together. There is ample criticism to go around towards the way Paul has ran the office (certainly I have been critical), but there is one undeniable fact we have far less prosecutors today then when he came in, and they are starting to leave again. David Nims is the best recent example. If you don't fix the critical resources, under-staffing, under-resourcing situation where DDAs are carrying 4 times the amount of cases they should, then none of us will fix this problem. Not myself, not Maggie, not Arnie nor Elan. We fund social services at $150M a year here, and other counties are sending there people up here to get their benefits. The DAs office is funded just north of $4M, in other words, the single and only prosecutorial and law enforcement office is funded 40 times less than social services receives. The debate will need to be about what priorities we are going to make, and how we are going to fix that office with a lightening focus on resources and expansion of the budget. Since the last couple years per the BoS, Paul has not submitted a budget, that will be a good part of the solution. Just submitting a budget, and then fighting with BoS to insure that your agency is properly resourced and funded to do its job which is the basic function of protecting all of the people. I really hope the voters get this and understand the real issue.
ReplyDeleteThis case is about my sister. Didn't really know how corrupt the DA is Humboldt is until this happened. Elmy is a sick POS, and deserves to be in prison and deported. We are objecting to the plea bargain because we want what is right to be done. Not having a mad woman running around children and their families just because they have money. It's sickening.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your coverage of this case. I am Angela's older sister. I did notice that you stated "Dokweiler said a “road rage” encounter on Samoa Boulevard resulted in the disputants pulling off on G Street, where the alleged attack occurred." I would like to offer a link to the Arcata Police Departments press release of the incident. Road rage was not ever mentioned, this was not a road rage case. As stated in the press release the stabbing was in fact the result of an ongoing dispute. Thank you- Verda W.N. Pitts
ReplyDeletehttp://www.arcatapd.org/press_release_detail.asp?pressID=724