Can we have Mendocino juries and Judges visit Humboldt for a while?

If we did, repeat offenders would get the message to stay out of Humboldt. Mendocino Judges are not afraid to let criminals know there are consequences for crimes. In Mendocino, having 6 prior strikes and being a motel burglar has consequences. 

Humboldt has been fortunate to have excellent jurors in child molestation cases. The jurors in the Bodhi Tree, Jason Warren and Gary Lee Bullock murder cases were exemplary.  In Humboldt, we have certain Judges "indicating" probation before plea deals.

Mendocino County DA Press Release:

A Mendocino County Superior Court jury returned from its deliberations Thursday morning to announce it had found the trial defendant guilty as charged.

Defendant Robert Ed Taylor, age 60, generally of the Ukiah area, was found guilty of Burglary in the First Degree, a felony. 

The defendant had been accused of entering an occupied motel room in Ukiah in May 2020 to steal $800 from within while the room occupants were away.

 After the jury was thanked and excused, a bench trial was conducted Thursday afternoon on whether the defendant has been convicted of six prior Strike offenses.  

Based on certified records obtained by the District Attorney from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and offered into evidence at that bench trial, the Court found true the sentence enhancement allegations that defendant Taylor has suffered the following felony Strike convictions: 

1. Robbery in the Second Degree, with personal use of a firearm, in San Diego in 1979;

2. A separate Robbery in the Second Degree, while armed with a firearm, in San Diego in 1979;

3. Robbery in the Second Degree, with personal use of a firearm, in Santa Cruz in 1989;

4. Assault with a Deadly Weapon causing Great Bodily Injury, in Lake County in 2001;

5. Terrorist Threats, in Mendocino County in 2016; and

6. A separate conviction for Terrorist Threats, in Mendocino County in 2016.

In addition to the prior Strike convictions, this defendant has also suffered prior felony non-Strike convictions for Grand Theft – Person in San Diego County in 1978; Domestic Violence Causing Traumatic Injury in Santa Cruz County in 1996; and Possession of Narcotics in Alameda County in 2000.

The case and verdicts have now been referred to the Adult Probation Department for a background study and sentencing recommendation.  

The defendant's sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 27, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. in Department B in Ukiah’s downtown courthouse. 

The law enforcement agencies that developed the evidence supporting today’s guilty verdict were the Ukiah Police Department, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, and the District Attorney’s own investigators.

The attorney who presented the People’s evidence at trial and argued for conviction was District Attorney David Eyster.  

As an aside, the DA saw the trial through to the end despite suffering a broken arm from a fall on the second day of jury selection.   

Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Victoria Shanahan presided over the seven day trial and will pronounce sentence on the defendant in May.