Gary Bryant Jr. exchanged gunfire with a man in an Antioch apartment parking lot on a July afternoon in 2014. Both were struck by bullets. Bryant survived and the other man died. Police said it was part of a string of gang shootings in the East Bay. At trial, prosecutors alleged — and a jury […]
Courts
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Got an Eviction Notice? This California Website Will Help You file a response.
In April, Juan Carlos Cruz Mora received an eviction notice from his landlord that alleged he caused property damage and dirty, unsafe living conditions in the Sacramento suburb duplex he had called home for the last 10 years. He had only five days to file a response in court. Mora, who blamed his landlord for […]
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Sex Abuse Suits Pouring in as State’s Catholic Leaders Seek Relief From Highest Court
In California, the lawsuits are mounting — middle-aged men, saying they were sexually assaulted as children by a Boy Scout leader or a priest. A woman, now in her late 30s, detailing how she was allegedly assaulted in a center for foster children. A man who said he was abused while volunteering with the Salvation […]
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Police and Prison Guard Misconduct and Bias: Audit Asks State to Step In
Police departments and state prisons aren’t doing enough to identify and punish bias among their officers and the state should do more to combat the problem, a state audit found. The audit, released this morning, recommended that the state Justice Department more regularly investigate how local police departments and sheriff’’s offices handle such alleged incidents, […]
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Replacing Cash Bail: Fairer Justice or Robopocalypse?
California is either about to right decades of inequality between rich and poor defendants by eliminating cash bail, or it’s about to turn over its justice system to robots. The question of what to do about the system that decides whether people should be free while awaiting trial will be determined by Proposition 25. The […]
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Judge Denies Placement of Sex Offender in Eureka
Judge John Feeney today decided against approving plans to have a man deemed by the courts to be a sexually violent predator placed under supervised release in Eureka, according to media reports and a Facebook post by Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson. The proposed placement would have had Joshua Cooley staying in a rotating set […]
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Suspected Coke Dealer Fails to Appear in Court
A $200,000 arrest warrant was issued this morning for Ariel Arguelles-Sosa after he failed to show at a bail review hearing requested by the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office to raise concerns about whether his bail was procured from drug money, according to a media report. Arguelles-Sosa was arrested Aug. 30 in what officials described […]
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Marci Kitchen Pleads Guilty, Sentencing Set
Just weeks before her trial was set to begin, Marci Kitchen stood in front of Judge Kaleb Cockrum today and pleaded guilty to all the charges she was facing for fatally hitting two teenage girls, including her daughter, while driving drunk then fleeing the scene in 2016. Wearing a black and white brocade dress with […]
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Marci Kitchen Expected to Plead Guilty Monday
Judge Kaleb Cockrum today set a Monday hearing at which Marci Kitchen is expected to enter a guilty plea to the full set of charges she is facing for the hit-and-run deaths of two teenage girls, one of whom was her daughter. More than two years have passed since Kitchen allegedly was driving drunk and […]
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Judge Reinholtsen Announces Retirement
Dale A. Reinholtsen is preparing to finish his 21-year career as a Humboldt County superior court judge. The press release from the court sets his retirement date for the end of December, when his current term will come to a close. Reinholtsen has presided over several high-profile Humboldt County cases, including a 2002 suit by […]
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As Supes Prepare for Thanksgiving Eve Meeting, Marcus Packs Up His Desk
UPDATE: Multiple public defenders’ office employees have confirmed that Marcus has packed up his office, cleaned out his desk and left without addressing employees. Previously: The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will meet late this afternoon in closed session to discuss the pending lawsuit against controversial Public Defender David Marcus. According to Clerk of the Board […]
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Fart Smell to Linger in Elections Material
Judge Timothy Cissna ruled this afternoon that the phrase “insert fart smell here,” will remain in special elections material to be distributed to Southern Humboldt voters this spring. The phrase was written by Scotty McClure as a rebuttal to arguments in favor of Measure W, a parcel tax intended to fund the rebuilding of the […]