DA says due to witness issues, case against Harwood would be difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt

Jury trial and a motion in limine was scheduled for Redway Garden and Feed owner Thomas Harwood on February 4. Instead the case resolved today with Harwood pleading to a lesser charge of wet and reckless for Count 1, Count 2 was dismissed, Count 3 deferred entry of judgement for 18 months, Count 4 dismissed with Harvey reservation and Count 5 was dismissed.

Judge Timothy Canning sentenced to two days in custody with one day credit and three years of probation. Restitution and letter of apology to Jane Doe. Harwood has to attend five AA meetings and complete 52 weeks of individual counseling. Harwood's commit to jail date is March 21.

Count 1 is DUI. Count 2 is having a blood alcohol level of .08% or more. Count 3 is battery; the alleged victim is Harwood's former girlfriend who was in the car at the time of the alleged assault. Count 4 is child abuse; John Doe is Harwood's son and Jane Doe is a female minor who was in the car. Count 5 is interference with wireless communication
device.

The defense had rejected a previous offer from the People. Mr. Michael Robinson, Harwood's attorney said that Harwood license has been suspended by the DMV for 120 days. Harwood has to commit to jail on 3/21/20. His DEJ date for Count 3 is 8/4/21.

There was audio and video that the defense presented to the prosecution. The details of that were not put on record but it played a role in the plea deal.

"It wasn't an easy decision," said Deputy District Attorney Jessica Acosta. "We don't condone the behavior. There will be some difficulty proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt. There are some witness issues. Some extraneous information was provided by Mr. Robinson. This is not a blow to Jane Doe's credibility."

Jane Doe and her mother gave victim impact statements. They were not in agreement about the plea.

Previous posts:
https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2020/01/defense-wants-to-exclude-irrelevant-and.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2020/01/owner-of-redway-garden-and-feed-rejects.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2020/01/i-think-there-are-some-significant.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2020/01/thomas-harwood-trial-scheduled-for-dui.html?m=1