COURT OBSERVATION: Defendant is not allowed to visit his terminally ill father or receive treatment for drug addiction

By Neha Suri

AUBURN, CA – After Judge Eugene S. Gini denied the defense's motion to release the defendant on parole and under supervision but without bail and to prohibit her from visiting her terminally ill father and seeking medical treatment, the defendant asked for – but was denied – bail in Placer County District Court on Wednesday.

The defendant is charged with three counts, including arson, minor possession of a controlled substance, and minor possession of controlled substance paraphernalia.

According to court documents, the defendant allegedly started a fire in the parking lot of the SureStay Hotel and Comfort Inn on Rocklin Road around 9 a.m. on August 8 after he went outside to smoke and put out a cigarette butt, causing a fire to break out.

A witness at the scene testified that the defendant had used a lighter she was carrying to set a second fire in a flowerpot in the parking lot near the first flames.

Sergeant Nathan Whann went to the scene shortly after receiving two emergency calls, one of which was from the defendant herself.

Whann testified that he “notice the air was smoky,” and when he arrived at the scene, he saw one man with a garden hose and another with a fire extinguisher. However, when he arrived, there were no flames visible.

Whann said he spoke with a witness who was staying at the SureStay who said he came out of the hotel to smoke in the parking lot but realized he didn't have a lighter. When he walked around the hotel building to find one, he saw the defendant standing next to a small fire.

Whann added that the witness then said something like, “You should delete that,” to which the defendant replied, “I'm angry at the world and I'm going to burn it down.”

At this point, the witness began filming the accused on his mobile phone. In total, four videos were recorded, which, according to Sergeant Whann, show the accused putting out a cigarette butt and bending down next to another flowerpot filled with dry brush and bark, where flames erupted a few seconds later.

Based on the reference points shown in the video, Whann estimated that the flames were about 1.8 to 2.4 meters high at most.

Officer Tina Mueller also arrived at the scene at about the same time as Whann and testified that the defendant was exhibiting symptoms of drug abuse. When asked if this was the case, the defendant stated she was unsure, but gave Mueller methamphetamine that she had in her purse.

Officer Mueller testified that she also saw a lighter in the right back pocket of the defendant's shorts and found a metal straw with burn marks in her purse. According to the officer, who worked with a drug task force for over 20 years and has a previous, now-expired, Drug Recognition Expert certification, the defendant used the straw to ingest narcotics.

Assistant Public Defender Todd Kuhnen argued that the defendant's phone call itself showed remorse and proved that the defendant's actions were “reckless” rather than “intentional.” DPD Kuhnen went on to say that this should result in one of the defendant's counts being reduced from 452 to a maximum of 451 because she did not demonstrate “intentional and dangerous conduct.”

DPD Kuhnen also put the defendant's alleged crimes into context, explaining that the defendant had just recently been released from Sacramento County and was told to report to the El Hogar treatment facility to receive treatment for her drug addiction. However, when she reported, she was told they were overbooked and was given a new date to return.

However, the defendant was charged with this crime before she could report for treatment again.

As a result, DPD Kuhnen insisted that the SOR's release would allow her to receive the necessary treatment, citing that “there is a psychological or mental health condition for which she needs help.”

In addition, the DPD stated that the defendant has a terminally ill father in the nearby Mercy San Juan Hospital who would likely die before her release if he remained in custody, and that she would like to see him before he dies.

The defendant was very emotional throughout the preliminary hearing, sniffling and crying audibly at times during Whann's testimony.

Assistant District Attorney Rainey Jacobson requested that bail be maintained, citing the defendant's prior convictions in other states, including theft, shoplifting, contempt of court, assault on a family member and probation violations.

Judge Gini ruled: “The court finds that the comments referring to him being 'angry at the world'” show that the defendant is “a danger to the community.” He added that the defendant's failure to appear in court twice poses a flight risk. In addition, “The court refuses to release the defendant.”

The defendant then began to cry and whimper, turned her face to the public and showed her tense look. She begged the judge to grant her bail and that she could “pay the bail with money”, although DPD Kuhnen had previously stated that she could not afford the bail.

The defendant began whispering angrily to her lawyer, asking him to tell the judge to release her on bail. The defendant continued to cry as she was taken from the courtroom to jail.

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Keywords:

Auburn Bail Court Watch Aggravated Arson Misdemeanor Possession of a Controlled Substance Misdemeanor Possession of Controlled Substance Paraphernalia Placer County