John Chiv: HCSO called the DA during the federal raid but when, why is one of the many questions left unanswered

Dec 27, 2021

HCSO called the DA during the federal raid but when, why is one of the many questions left unanswered

(October 2021 federal raid on Christie's property)

A lot happened today. I posted about the morning court session and then added an update in the afternoon after the hearing concluded.

The hearing on the defense motion to suppress evidence gathered during the October 2021 federal raid at Ray Christie's properties is still going on and is expected to conclude this afternoon.

So far, HCSO Sgt. Josh McCall testified, CDFA Investigator Chad Parker is still on the stand. Who else will testify is up in the air.

One of the bombshells during McCall's testimony was that he called Deputy District Attorney Steven Steward the morning of the raid.

Alleged mail and wire fraud was what the feds were investigating.

HCSO and State agents are claiming they had probable cause to gather evidence.

Mr. Steward told Judge Gregory Elvine-Kreis that he only intends to use Sgt. McCall's report and testimony and that he does not intend to use the evidence gathered by the state agents or HCSO animal control. That is a win for the defense because the People are backing down from the evidence they intend to use. This announcement was this morning and the first the defense heard about this development.

Sgt. McCall was evasive but polite to Mr. Richmond. Parker was defensive and defiant when Christie's attorney, Mr. Rick Richmond questioned him. After lunch, Parker's had a slight attitude adjustment.

Parker cited a Code/Section 408. Parker answered yes when Mr. Richmond asked him if that meant he had authority to do whatever he wants and wander around Christie's property.

Deputy Attorney General Bradley Solomon was present on behalf of the state witnesses.

Update from afternoon court session: Defense motion to suppress was denied. Judge Elvine-Kreis said the arguments were good but they should be decided by a jury. Judge Elvine-Kreis also said evidentiary issues could be addressed in motions for limine. Judge Elvine said that McCall acted in good faith and that what he saw was in plain view. Every time Mr. Richmond rebutted a point, Judge Elvine-Kreis came up with another reason to deny the motion.

One of my favorite questions by Mr. Richmond was about the Humboldt auction yard. Mr. Richmond asked McCall about seeing sick/dead animals and why he never investigated or followed up at the Humboldt Auction Yard or any other rancher. If you have been reading up on this case, you have seen at least two examples and my asking the same question.

The in camera hearing requested by the DA is scheduled for tomorrow. That is not a hearing open to the public.

Mr. Richmond's associates, Ms. Caroline Glennie-Smith and Ms. Jodie Koo met with Mr. Steward after court to find out why the in camera hearing was being requested.

There is a January 7 hearing for a defense motion to dismiss. Whether evidence was preserved from the first raid in 2018 and the chain of custody will be addressed by the defense. "Most of that evidence has been lost, destroyed or hidden from Mr.Christie," said Mr. Richmond. I have already done a post with details from that motion.

Bryce Welke, the forensic expert I mentioned in one of my previous posts and HCSO Deputy Travis Mendes will be called by the defense to testify at that trial.

Mr. Richmond said he intends to file a motion to continue the January 31 trial. That may also be addressed on January 7. Mr. Richmond wanted the motion to continue to be heard before January 18 which is the trial confirmation date.

Mr. Richmond wants the trial continued for "a month or two." Mr. Richmond received discovery on Sunday.

The issue of the federal raid is not over. As mentioned in one of my previous posts, now that Humboldt has a ruling, Mr. Richmond can refile that motion in federal court.

Humboldt Superior Court is predictable. Attorneys were told to speed up and focus and whittle down witnesses. Judge Elvine-Kreis was irritated that there was something "almost every week". According to Humboldt injustice rules, taking time to properly present a case is not allowed because it is inconvenient to Humboldt Superior Court. Maybe they could focus on properly posting court calendars and running the court in an organized fashion so there isn't always a backlog.

It is okay for Humboldt Superior Court Operations Manager Kelly Nyberg to flit around, move this and other cases last minute and interrupt the proceedings this morning. A few Deputy District Attorneys as well as former prosecutor for Christie's case and currently Deputy Public Defender Adrian Kamada had time to sit in on today's hearing. Court couldn't have been that busy

When you read all the detailed testimony from today,you can decide whether Judge Elvine-Kreis' mind was already made up about the motion before the hearing started.

It will take time to type and post five hours of testimony. To be fair to all parties, I dont want to rush that post with selective quotes.

The courtroom for today's hearing was changed last minute from Courtroom 2 to Courtroom 1. Same thing could happen tommorrow.

The Christie case was listed again in Courtroom 2 then was going to be moved to Courtroom 3 by Judge Elvine-Kreis until Ms.Nyberg informed him there was a trial in that courtroom. The online calendar lists the case in Courtroom 1 for 12/28.

Previous post:

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2021/12/are-hcso-and-state-witnesses-going-to.html?m=1

Recent posts:

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2021/12/das-office-did-not-inform-or-serve.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2021/12/hcso-and-da-lucy-youve-got-some.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2021/12/motion-to-dismiss-charges-against-ray.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2021/12/judge-elvine-kreis-assigned-to-ray.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2021/12/i-am-at-loss-as-to-what-i-can-do-mr.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2021/12/federal-judges-order-puts-onus-on.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2021/12/defense-forced-to-subpoena-deputy-da.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-governments-hands-are-filthy.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2021/11/i-am-not-impugning-anyones-character-i.html?m=1