SHOCKING MISCONDUCT REVEALED IN MOTION TO DISMISS

FRANK CARSON CASE

07/18/2017

BY WILLIAM THOMAS JENSEN (TOM)

It has been quite some time since I last wrote an article on this case. We have been in a holding pattern, waiting for January 9^th, 2018. That is when this case will actually go to trial.

Today, we spent the entire day hearing arguments on a motion to dismiss due to prosecutorial abuse. Defense attorney Robert Forkner spent 5 hours detailing what he felt were the most serious instances of this abuse. When we left for our lunchtime break, I felt that there was no way that we would ever complete this hearing by the end of the day. I was wrong. I will now try to paint yet another picture for you of what I witnessed in the courtroom, mixed with some of my opinions.

Today was supposed to start out at 9:30 AM in Department 2 of the old courthouse. We sat outside of the courtroom until 10:23AM waiting to be allowed inside. Judge Zuniga was presiding, and she virtually never starts out on time. It frustrates me, and I am sure it has contributed to the excessive length of this case.

This is what the judge called a 995 hearing. We start out with the judge talking about starting the preliminary hearing for the CHP Officers on August 29^th. She states that it should last until around September 15^th. After this, the judge talks about moving this up to September 22^nd to resolve some scheduling conflicts. Talk then goes about a 1385 motion. I am not sure what that refers to. Defense attorney Hans Hjertonsson joins in on this motion. An attorney named Pat Chaka (sp?) is filling in for Jai Gohel in representing Baljit Athwal today.

Judge Zuniga now speaks about a motion where the defense had asked for the identity of an informant. Prosecuting DA Marlisa Ferreira states that the people have no objection to disclosing the identity of this informant. One of the audience members suggested to me that this informant was former Sheriff’s Deputy Carrie Abby, but I do not know if that is true or not. Judge Zuniga agrees to sit on the 1385 motion. She states that she has read Robert Forkner’s binders, and the opposition to it from the prosecution.

Robert Forkner now begins five hours of his arguments concerning the voluminous misconduct that has been conducted by the prosecution during the 18-month preliminary hearing. He states that this case revolves around the Poletti (sp?) case. This case deals with what he called the commuted error doctrine.

Forkner speaks about day one of the preliminary hearing where an employee of the Department of Justice named Sanchez focused about the garage on the Carson property. Forkner stated that the misconduct started out on day two of the preliminary hearing with the testimony of Cathy Grinnolds. Forkner states that DA Investigator Kirk Bunch had spoken to Ms. Grinnolds previous to her testimony, and had withheld evidence that she had seen 3 men on the roof at the Carson property. Robert Forkner states that the prosecution was admonished by Judge Zuniga concerning this matter concerning willful non- disclosure of evidence. Forkner stated that defense attorney Percy Martinez demanded an offer of proof from Marlisa Ferreira, and that she refused. Forkner states that the information had to come out on his cross examination of Grinnolds. Forkner then states that Marlisa Ferreira moved to strike the testimony of Cathy Grinnolds, and said that she was simply too busy to disclose the evidence. Forkner states that the judge called this an example of “Bad lawyering.”

Robert Forkner now goes into the testimony of Eula Keyes, and states that the day after she was done testifying, Marlisa disclosed that Eula Keyes son had been involved in a brutal armed robbery, and that the case had been rejected by the Stanislaus County DA’s office for prosecution. Forkner states that items were found in Keith Hobbs car that included property from the armed robbery and weapons involved with the crime. I guess it pays to testify at court for the prosecution. It could protect your family members from prosecution. What a country!

Robert Forkner now goes into the testimony of Linda Burns. He states that Linda Burns testified that she had committed no thefts from the Carson property. He states that Kirk Bunch and Marlisa Ferreira both knew that this was not true. He mentions a man named Mark Cavenaugh, who was introduced by Linda Burns to Eula Keyes. Mark Cavenaugh was the alleged “fence” who they would sell the stolen goods to. I believe he lived in Sonora at the time. Forkner states that Linda Burns finally admitted a lie on the stand, and that Marlisa Ferreira had known that it was a lie. Forkner states that this is suborning perjury.

Forkner states that Eula Keyes denied any thefts from the Carson property during his cross examination of her. He states that Eula Keyes testified that her Father in Law had given her the set of antique oil bottles that had actually been stolen from the Carson property. He states that Kirk Bunch and Marlisa Ferreira knew of these thefts, and were again suborning perjury. He states that the cumulative effect of all of this is denying the defendants from due process. He states that the defendants were sitting in jail, while the prosecution was withholding exculpatory evidence, and suborning perjury. Forkner states that he orally moved to have all charges dismissed, and was told by the judge that he would have to do a motion. He states that Marlisa Ferreira stated: “Bring it on.” Forkner states that: “We have done that.”

Robert Forkner now goes into Michael Cooley. He states that Marlisa Ferreira said that Michael Cooley was promised no jail because he was too sick. Forkner states that this is not true. Forkner states that Michael Cooley got released on his own recognizance. He asks the court if this was not a benefit. Forkner states that Kirk Bunch gives the go ahead on this, and that the defense only found out about it until after the 402 hearing. Robert Forkner speaks about how Marlisa Ferreira kept saying that there was “No formal agreement” concerning Michael Cooley.

Robert Forkner states that the prosecution made the preliminary hearing go on and on till December 22^nd, 2016, when Judge Zuniga released all the remaining defendants in custody on their own recognizance. Forkner states that nobody has ever heard of another case where Murder defendants with special circumstances were released on their own recognizance.

Robert Forkner speaks about some court records on Keith Hobbs that had been withheld by the prosecution. Marlisa Ferreira had stated in court that the defense could have obtained these records from the court by request. Forkner states that Marlisa Ferreira and Kirk Bunch knew that this would not work in Stanislaus County.

Robert Forkner now goes into Sabrina Romero. He called her testimony appalling. He said she was called as a percipient eye witness to threats that were made. Forkner states that during cross examination he was able to get her to testify that Justin Reedy had told her about the alleged threats. Robert Forkner states that Kirk Bunch’s report on Sabrina Romero clearly shows that the prosecution was suborning perjury with the testimony of Sabrina Romero.

Robert Forkner now goes into Linda Burns, and her testimony concerning pipes on the Carson property. Forkner states that Linda Burns remained uncharged for her crimes because of her testimony. He stated that Kirk Bunch had met with Linda Burns prior to her testimony, and that it was after this meeting that she testified about pipes being set out as bait on the Carson property. He stated that Linda Burns had testified that she was “Too scared” to say anything about the pipes earlier.

Robert Forkner states that Eula Keyes was given drug diversion instead of jail on a drug conviction even though she was ineligible for such diversion by law.

Forkner now speaks about how Ronald Cooper was involved in a home invasion where he hurts his girlfriend. He speaks about how Marlisa Ferreira had met with Cooper at his prison where he was facing 27 years of incarceration in 2013. Forkner states that Cooper’s sentence was reduced to four years. Forkner states that Marlisa had denied 5 times that any deals had been done for Ronald Cooper. Forkner: “We saw him in recorded interviews asking for a deal.” Forkner says that Kirk Bunch can be heard telling Ronald Cooper: “We’ve got the juice.”

Forkner briefly goes into how the prosecution had resisted the term “Task Force” for the first 6 months of this trial. He stated that this was due to the inference that the “Task Force” would be using Federal dollars in its investigation. There has been some talk in the past that the “Task Force” had diverted drug/gang enforcement dollars into this investigation. I do not know if this is true or not. Robert Forkner states that the misconduct came up on a day to day basis.

Robert Forkner now goes into the testimony of TJ Samra Singh. He states that Marlisa and Bunch went to his home and confronted him before he testified. Forkner states that they told TJ that Robert Forkner was going to come over with some papers for him to sign. Forkner states that they told TJ: “Don’t sign the papers.” He said they began advising him on the law. Forkner states that TJ was a former client, and that it was improper for them to do so. Forkner: “That can’t happen.” Forkner now states that Kirk Bunch had told TJ: “We weren’t here.” Forkner calls that consciousness of guilt for Kirk Bunch. He states that Marlisa had said: “I know I am going to regret this” before she allowed him to testify out of order. Forkner states that TJ had been threatened by Kirk Bunch. Forkner states that Marlisa Ferreira had tried to blame the court for this whole situation. Forkner states that TJ had a warrant for his arrest, and that Kirk Bunch knew he had a warrant for his arrest before he testified. Forkner states that Kirk Bunch had several meetings with TJ before he testified, and never had him arrested for his outstanding warrant. Forkner states that TJ Samra Singh had angered Marlisa Ferreira with his testimony, and that she blurted out in the courtroom that he had an outstanding warrant. Judge Zuniga had to have him arrested on the spot. The “B Word” comes to mind to me at this time. Forkner calls this: “Blatant Misconduct.” It is now time for us to take our lunchtime break.

Like usual, we start out in the afternoon a half hour late. Judge Zuniga can hardly ever start on time. Robert Forkner continues his presentation of misconduct in this preliminary hearing. He starts talking about Patrick Hampton. He is what many of us call Mr. F Bomb. Hampton has mouthed the F Bomb to many of us during his testimony. Forkner speaks about how Marlisa Ferreira steadfastly denied that Hampton was an informant that had been used in the past, and on this case. Forkner states that Hampton had worked for the DA’s Office previously, but that Marlisa had stated that she was unaware that he had done so. Forkner states that that was untrue. I call it a lie. That is much more accurate. Forkner states how Kirk Bunch had told Hampton that: “I’ve dealt with you on a previous case, and you were very reliable.” (Defense #87.” Forkner: “We found out through documents that 20 years ago he worked on a case with Brad Nix of the Stanislaus County DA’s Office. Forkner: “This was calculated.” Forkner states that Hampton was moved from Pelican Bay to a prison in Susanville. Forkner states that this was: “A Huge Benefit.” Forkner states that Hampton had two cases pending against him that concerned a stabbing and a shank. Forkner states that Brad Nix told Hampton: “Don’t Worry.” Forkner states that the DA had all this information in their possession, but withheld it from the defense. Forkner calls this: “A pattern to withhold.” Forkner states that Marlissa Ferreira had accused the court of putting Hampton at risk.” Forkner states that Stanislaus County had essentially issued a: “Get out of jail for free card.” Forkner states that only after the Hampton incident in Oakdale did the prosecution admit that they were communicating with Hampton.

Forkner now speaks about the polygraph examination of Robert Woody that was denied by Marlisa Ferreira. He states that Marlisa and Kirk Bunch knew about the polygraph examination when they denied it in the courtroom. I call this another lie.

Robert Forkner states that Marlisa Ferreira had made allegations that Frank Carson had represented Robert Woody and Ronald Cooper in the past. Forkner: “Evaluation of the records indicate that not one time did Frank Carson represent either man.”

Robert Forkner now states that Marlisa Ferreira had made false accusations to judge Manukian in the Bail Hearing. Forkner states that the stolen book alert made no mention of Korey Kauffman as contended by Marlissa Ferreira.

Forkner states that Detective Dale Lingerfeldt had made false accusations about Daljit Atwal being a gangster and a Northern Rider. Forkner: “That is not true.”

Forkner states that on March 11, 2016 Marlisa Ferreira continued to maintain that Patrick Hampton was not an informant. He states that Hampton had tested dirty on 15 drug tests, but was not violated for any of these dirty tests.

Forkner now speaks about the invasion of Frank Carson’s Law Office. He states that Marlisa Ferreira had lied about Frank Carson not knowing who was invading his office. He states that Detective Bejarin had said that the DA had a significant interest in the Carson case.

Forkner states that Korey Kauffman was last seen leaving Michael Cooley’s property until very late in the testimony.

Forkner states that the prosecution violated the judge’s orders by talking to Patrick Hampton after the Oakdale incident. Forkner states that Hampton spent 10 hours at the DA’s office talking to Steve Jacobson. At this time, I notice that Kirk Bunch is very nervous, and is fidgeting with his pen.

Robert Forkner speaks about Judge Manukian’s Discovery orders, and Judge Zuniga’s Discovery orders that were never followed.

Forkner now speaks about how Judge Zuniga released all the in-custody defendants on their own recognizance, and how he had never seen this before in a Murder case with special circumstances. Forkner states that Marlisa Ferreira stated: “I feel like I am being sucker punched.”

Forkner states that it was HUGE where Marlisa Ferreira talked about a bullet being found in the body at the Bail Hearing. He speaks about how Judge Manukian asked her about this, and that she knew full well that the bullet was found days later, and that they could not even be sure that the bullet was found where the body of Korey Kauffman had been found. The bullet was actually found in the ground in an area where many bullets have been fired by hunters in the past. Forkner speaks about how Marlisa Ferreira spoke about a bullet hole in the jacket. Evidence shows that the jacket is full of random holes after being exposed for an extended time to the elements. None of the holes match up to show a “through and through” path through the jacket. Forkner states that Detective Corey Brown could: “Not see any such holes” in his cross examination.

Forkner states that Cathy Grinnolds stated on cross examination that she heard no threats, and that Frank Carson was calm and civil to her. Forkner states that Frank Carson did not threaten any of the witnesses.

Forkner now goes into Beverly Woody, and how the prosecution was proffering her as a witness without any foundation. Forkner states that the prosecution was suborning perjury with Beverly Woody.

Forkner states that Marlisa Ferreira stated that the defense should not be calling Mr. Atala an informant when they knew it was true. Forkner states that Kirk Bunch knew in 2013 that he was an informant. Forkner states that the prosecution argued that Frank Carson was not Mr. Atala’s attorney. Forkner: “He was, and we proved it.” Forkner: “They knew it was true.” Forkner states that Mr. Atala’s brother was given a deal on a case he was involved with. Forkner: “That was a benefit.”

Robert Forkner states that the prosecution said that Frank Carson instructed his family to not call law enforcement about the thefts. Forkner: “This is not true.” Forkner: “The intercepted text messages prove that this is not true.”

Forkner now speaks about July 22, 2016 when Robert Woody suddenly testified that Frank Carson took the gun from Daljit Atwal after Daljit had shot Korey Kauffman. This was later proven to be a lie. Forkner speaks about how the court struck Beverly Woody’s testimony, and how Marlisa Ferreira had argued that Beverly Woody was confused. Forkner: “For the prosecution to offer Beverly Woody as a witness with no foundation shows misconduct.”

Robert Forkner now goes into the interrogation techniques that were used by the investigators. He speaks about how Kirk Bunch had threatened Robert Woody with the death penalty, and how Steve Jacobson had given Robert Woody a sermon citing the Old Testament. Forkner cites Rodgers v Richmond concerning this.

Robert Forkner now goes into the testimony of Jim Cook, and how Cook had testified that he was the only person that analyzed cell phone data on this case. He kept saying this despite Kirk Bunch knowing all along that Alicia O’Brien of WSIN had done extensive work prior to Jim Cook’s work. Bunch allowed this testimony from Cook to go on even though he knew it was not true. Forkner states that the prosecution was once again suborning perjury.

Forkner now speaks about how the DA allowed Patrick Hampton and Robert Woody to be housed together on two separate occasions while Robert Woody was on the stand. This was hidden from the defense for a long time.

Now Robert Forkner speaks about what he considers to be the worst of the worst. He speaks about how the prosecution refused to gather exculpatory evidence from Patrick Hampton. He speaks about how Hampton told Kirk Bunch that Robert Woody had confessed to being the sole killer of Korey Kauffman, and how Kirk Bunch had told him: “I don’t want to hear about that.” Can you believe that? Forkner: “That about sums up this whole case.” Submitted. He asks the court to dismiss the charges against all the defendants in this case.

Marlisa looks pale at this point. I can’t believe she did not interrupt Robert Forkner during his presentation.

Defense attorney Hans Hjertonsson now briefly goes into his thoughts on this matter. He speaks about how on 12/22/2016 Daljit Atwal and Baljit Athwal were released on their own recognizance to preserve the integrity of this case. He speaks about how he requested a dismissal of all charges at the time. He speaks about how over and over again Discovery was being withheld by the prosecution, and how the defense was told that certain Discovery did not exist. He speaks about how there are no checks and balances in the DA’s Office, and how the prosecution can’t say that all the Brady Material has been provided to the defense. Hans states that therefore the prosecution is not in compliance with the Brady laws. All the other defense attorneys state that they are submitting. It is now time for Marlisa to try to put lipstick on the pig of a case she has presented thus far.

At this point of the day, Marlisa has 45 minutes left in the day. She speaks about what Hans Hjertonsson has said, and says that the prosecution has no obligation to provide what he was complaining about. She states that she: “Could be in violation.” She states that what Robert Forkner was speaking about are only allegations. Marlisa invites the judge to reconsider the statements made by the witnesses. Marlisa states that the prosecution’s responses to the allegations are recorded specifically in detail in their papers. She states that the rule of law on 1385 is whether or not the withheld information is something that would affect the holding order. She states that we are at the preliminary hearing stage of this case, and that the case law is more specific to the actual trial stage. She states that the prosecution has failed to provide the court with one single instance where this would change the outcome. Marlisa states that the delays in this hearing are almost always view as being her fault. She cites injuries to a defense attorney that fell in the street. I fault the judge as well with the length of the preliminary hearing. She is simply hardly ever on time. Many times, she was late by hours. She seems like my wife at times. Sorry honey. Marlisa states that the defense was not denied a fair trial. I beg to differ on that one. This preliminary hearing has been a sham, and makes me believe that our judicial system is broken and bastardized. It is really true that any competent attorney can get a ham sandwich indicted.

Marlisa speaks about how the defense stated that the Cathy Grinnolds information was not provided in a timely manner. Marlisa: “They fully cross examined her.” Marlisa denied giving the witnesses incentives. I really don’t think she really believes this to be true, but truth does not seem to predominate in this courtroom. She says that the defense had everything that the prosecution had. I know this to not be true.

Marlisa tries to say that Robert Forkner knew his client TJ Samra Singh had an outstanding warrant, but insisted on putting him on the stand anyway.

Marlisa states that the defense said that she knew Baljit Athwal was getting a new attorney. She says Robert Forkner was the first one to tell the prosecution that Baljit Athwal had a new attorney.

Marlisa Ferreira states that the defense has established no prejudice concerning the polygraph examination. Once again, I beg to differ on that one. Marlisa is now done, and we are done for the day. The next hearing will be on August 4^th. This one took me quite some time to type. I apologize for the lateness of the post.

Sincerely; William Thomas Jensen (Tom)

NO 1385 MOTION AS THOUGHT

BUT PROSECUTORS MISCONDUCT MOTION

By Marty Carlson

7-18-2017

Court was scheduled to start at 9:30 AM and in fact the judge did walk-in right at 9:30 AM but we did not get into the courtroom to almost 10:45 AM and the judge took the bench about 10:55 AM. Apparently there were some issues discussed in chambers which included some decorating that the judge wanted done.

When the judge finally took the bench, she stated that she had been calling this a 1385 PC hearing but it was in its actuality a 995 hearing that the judge was told by the Atty. Gen.’s office that she would have to hear and it was regarding prosecutors misconduct that Robert Forkner had been continuing on throughout the entire preliminary hearing.

They also discussed there was a motion to disclose a confidential informants name, and the District Attorney’s Office was not opposing that disclosure and in fact they stated that the had turned over the name to the defense, but it was not revealed in court.

Robert Forkner began the hearing stating that the court as a magistrate during the preliminary hearing makes for different type a ruling that would’ve been heard. He stated the district attorney on the first day of the prelim had put Department of Justice testimony with pictures of the alleged scene, and the chicken coop or barn in those pictures

he then discussed on day two of the testimony of Kathy Grinolds, and there was no previous notice of her change in statements to law enforcement. There was a change in her statements after her original statements that had not been turned over to defense. Attorney Forkner stated that that was the beginning of a pattern of ongoing conduct throughout the hearing, which caused the hearing to last 18 months. He also stated the district attorney had said at the time that they were just too busy to reveal the information.

Robert Forkner then discussed Eula Keyes and her testimony, and in fact the day after she testified the District Attorney’s Office reveals that her son and boyfriend Mike Cooley, were involved in some type of armed robbery or felony assault with a knife. He stated that some of the benefits received in special considerations to one or both were given to the witnesses but not revealed.

In regard to Linda Sue Burns she testified that she was never involved in the thefts, but the District Attorney’s Office put her on the stand knowing full well that she was lying. He stated that Linda Sue Burns was involved in having possession and selling the stolen property and transporting it in her car. He said that was more misconduct knowing a witness was giving false testimony, which also created long delays in the hearing by creating more research into the people involved. In addition, there was people in custody that were getting considerations and the District Attorney’s Office was withholding truthful testimony.

In regard to Mike Cooley he said the district attorney had said that he was real sick so he is not going to prison, in his possession for sales case. He says it also became clear that Cooley has been an informant and has a long running court case from 2014, that still has not been resolved to this date. In addition, Kurt Bunch had authorized Mike Cooley to be released from jail on his own recognizance and the information was not released to the defense and the district attorneys kept saying no deals were made.

Keith Hobbs, which is Eula Keyes son, the police reports in regard to his activities were finally turned over after some legal maneuvering by the defense.

He discussed Sabrina Romero getting a sweetheart deal, On felony embezzlement charges, after telling Kurt Bunch she didn’t see Frank Carson at the property that day, but that statement was not turned over to the defense, only that Carson was there.

Linda Sue Burns later on told investigators about the pipes that were stacked in the backyard, after talking to other witnesses, and has remained uncharged in all the thefts that she was involved on after several contacts by Kirk Bunch. Again, the District Attorney’s Office kept repeating that they were no deals made.

Ronald Cooper received a release on his own recognizance, after a home invasion charge, and Marlisa Ferreira personally got involved in the context of attorneys and or Ronald Cooper on that.

Robert Forkner said that the district attorney had stated five times to the court that no deals were made, but Cooper had said otherwise in his interview with Kurt Bunch. And Kurt Bunch had told him that we can make this happen if he agreed to talk.

Robert Forkner stated disclosure of these information probably would have streamlined this preliminary hearing, but the DA kept saying on the record “no deals have been made.”

He also stated that the district attorney kept insisting that there was no “task force” involved, but the term is used in some of the affidavits, but the district attorney Referring to the multi-jurisdictional investigative team. Also of note Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christiansen had used the term task force in the press conference when they announced the arrests.

Attorney Forkner stated that the DA has responsibility reveal or disclose information to the defense and started quoting some case law where the prosecution has an obligation to reveal any witness statements.

He also discussed Mme. DA’s, along with Kirk Bunch, visit to TJ Samra’s house the day before he was supposed to testify. He said that Kurt Bunch had told TJ to not sign the papers from his attorney, which were from Robert Forkner, and in fact Mme. DA was giving Mr. samara legal advice and what he could do or not do. Both Mme. DA and investigator Bunch knew that TJ had an outstanding warrant because he told them that he was not taken into custody when they went to his house. They also stated as they were leaving “we were not here.” After TJ revealed there visit on the stand the next day in court Mme. DA was not happy with what he had said and asked him if he had a warrant for his arrest, which led the judge no alternative but to take him into custody. More misconduct.

Forkner also talked about the police report from Tim Redd from Turlock Police Department that the District Attorney’s Office continually said had been turned over, but he says it never was.

In addition, the district attorney made representations that defense counsel was tampering with Ronald Cooper while he was in jail, but the jail records showed different they had not had those visits. There was also a notation by the judge in the record where she started expressing concern about things represented by the District Attorney’s Office.

After we broke for lunch Court was then again restarted around 1405 hrs. and Robert Forkner began talking about Patrick Hampton, and the information about his prior activities of being informant which the District Attorney’s Office continually denied. Robert Forkner had read from the record with the DA denied again and Kurt Bunch stating that he had interviewed Patrick Hampton. During that interview Kurt Bunch stated to Hampton that they had worked well together in the past and that Patrick Hampton wanted immunity for his testimony. Around that point they finally admitted that he had worked with the DAs office before, and that was after a subpoena, was served for his records at the Department of Corrections.

In addition, he says Hampton received a benefit by being removed from Pelican Bay State prison to another lower security prison in northern California. Hampton also had to pending cases at the prison, for having a shank in his possession or cell, additionally he had many probation or parole violations as he was constantly testing dirty and he never went to jail or was violated until the hostage situation in Oakdale.

The investigators nor the DA ever corrected the information on Hampton’s past informing. Additional misconduct.

There was also the polygraph test that was taken at the District Attorney’s Office but was continually denied by investigators and Mme. DA.

He stated the District Attorney’s Office also contended Frank Carson had represented Ronald Cooper or Robert Woody in the past, and was trying to get some type of conflict involved there, which was a major misrepresentation. This representation was given to judge Manukian at the bail hearing after the original arrest. He stated they also claim Frank Carson focused on Korey Kauffman personally in the thefts, and the district attorney also stated that Frank Carson had threatened Korey Kauffman but they had never seen or talked prior. More misrepresentation at the bail hearing as they were trying to get Bail denied.

He also stated that Dale Lingerfelt had represented to the court that Daljit Atwahl was a member of the gang “northern riders”, it was another attempt at prejudicial information that was not accurate at a bail hearing.

The District Attorney’s Office is also represented to the court that Frank Carson has personally identified Korey Kauffman in the thefts which was proven to be not true in the of missing property list that was put out. In addition, Korey Kauffman’s family had a flyer prepared after he went missing that the District Attorney’s Office used for their investigations but objected to the defense admitting the flyer as evidence.

Robert Forkner stated the district attorney had represented Frank Carson had lied during that office visit by the officers, and said he didn’t know who they were, but the tape of the visit proves that he did not lie and identified all of the officers involved to 911.

He also discussed the start of the investigation by the District Attorney’s Office started on April 2, 2012 just three days after Korey Kauffman went missing. Which was very unusual as normally that is done by the sheriff’s office. In addition, Steve Jacobson had testified that Kurt Bunch was on the case on April 2, 2012, for the disappearance and homicide of Kory Kauffman. Robert Forkner stated this is a consistent pattern of behavior by the investigators in the district attorney on the case.

He also discussed the district attorney’s claim that Frank Carson was visited by many attorneys, in the jail, during his time in custody turned out to be not true.

The district attorney’s claim to judge Manukian, during the bail hearing, that a bullet was found in the clothing at the scene with the body was found, was not true. Later they admitted that the bullet was found elsewhere. It was an obvious attempt to distort the facts to keep the defendants in custody. He also mentioned Deputy Cory Brown and his testimony about the bullet holes in the clothes.

The District Attorney’s Office had claimed that Kory Kauffman was last seen on Frank Carson’s property, that the testimony had stated otherwise as Korey Kauffman was seen leaving and walking a different direction away from the property.

He also stated that the district attorney was trying to coach the witnesses on the stand by blurting out comments during cross-examination trying to help them out.

Also, the District Attorney’s Office had denied the gentleman by the name of Attahla was an informant the during Kurt Bunch’s testimony it came out that he had worn a wire in one of the meetings in Frank Carson’s office.

He stated there was a July 22, 2015 Robert Woody admission and just prior to that the DA was making statements that Beverly Woody must be believed, because of course, it is his mother.

He also stated that Steve Jacobson had been given Robert Woody many considerations and gratuities like cigarettes, food, and praying and discussing God with him which is misconduct. And he cited some case law were using religion to induce statements is illegal.

Then he went to the Jim Cook testimony where he is said he was the only one who ever analyzed any data on the cell records, and had stated there was no other reports or analysis available. Then the WISN reports had become available, after it came out in testimony, and Kurt Bunch was aware of this the entire time.

Miss O’Brien from WISN had testified that Kurt Bunch and Jim Cook both had conversations with her about her work. Forkner stated that Marlisa Ferreira had misled the court again with her denials of previous cell phone analysis.

Robert Forkner stated Robert Woody and Patrick Hampton been house together at the Tuolumne County jail during Robert Woody’s testimony was a major misconduct. As both Hampton and Woody admitted to conversing about the case in the cell. In addition, they were housed together on two different occasions.

In addition, the district attorney’s office and investigators refused to gather any evidence or statements after Patrick Hampton told Steve Jacobson that Robert Woody had confessed to the homicide of Kory Kauffman in the cell. He told Steve Jacobson when he saw him at the jail, and Jacobson stated he did want to talk about it. This amounts to extremely gross misconduct by the entire District Attorney’s Office.

At this time Robert Forkner had finished his representation to the court, as most of his points were in a brief and he was just doing highlights.

Attorney Hans made a brief argument to the court in regard to the release of the defendants on December 22, 2016. He stated the integrity of the process must be protected, and that was the judge his own words at the time of the release.

He stated the District Attorney’s Office has a major structural deficiency in its discovery system. It has been an ongoing problem for some time and is been highlighted dramatically in this case. He asked that the court dismiss the charges under 1385 PC.

No other defense attorneys wanted to address the court, and Marlisa Ferreira got to do her rebuttal.

She stated regarding Hans a statement about the not all the discovery being turned over that she could agree with that to a point, but to her knowledge all information has been discovered.

She stated that everything that was used in the preliminary hearing was discovered as required she also stated she has addressed all the points in Robert Forkner’s motion in their response brief, and then for clarification gave dates of her responses to all those motions.

Mme. DA asked if the information would have changed the outcome, as it does not apply to a problem because there was a remedy. She stated in regards to Keith Hobbs or Eula Keyes or Mike Cooley or Linda Sue Burns, none of their issues make a difference or change the outcome of the hearing.

Mme. DA stated that the defense tactics is what caused the long preliminary hearing to happen, it was not at the hands of the District Attorney’s Office. She stated they were never denied a fair hearing.

She also stated that some of the defendants were benefited, as not all charges were held to answer or some were reduced.

In regards to Kathy Grinolds the information was discovered when they got it, and again there was no prejudice to the defendants.

Eula Keyes’s son Keith Hobbs receive no benefit through her activities.

She stated defense had plenty of opportunity to call other witnesses like Keith Hobbs, but they never did.

She stated with Linda Sue Burns there was no connection with the thefts and no evidence to be charged with any crimes.

She said there was never any judicial process denied to these defendants.

In regards to Mike Cooley being sick, she never said he was, Mike Cooley did give some information and he was given some credit for it.

She stated that all other information was disclosed like denying her any deals with Ronald Cooper, there were no deals for Patrick Hampton’s information.

She stated that it is the district attorney’s duty to “disclose, disclose, disclose.” And they did just that.

She said in regards to suborning perjury with testimony, they were on strict notice not to talk to witnesses and that they complied.

In reference to Sabrina Romero she did give different statements were originally, but all future statements were discovered.

Marlisa Ferreira stated that he always complied with the judge’s orders even when they were not required to, and emphasized they never used the term “task force” only the multijurisdictional investigative team.

She stated the defense use all the above issues as a deflection in the real facts of the case. In regard to TJ Samra, she said that Robert Forkner wanted to get Kirk Bunch in trouble with the warrant issue. She says they have every right to talk to someone who has an attorney if they talk about non-case issues.

She also stated that she believed the polygraph information had been turned over, even though it cannot be used for innocence or guilt, but there could be exculpatory information revealed in the interviews.

She stated again they made no untrue allegations at the bail hearings.

And noted that Patrick Hampton involved in the Oakdale incident there were no hostage taken and Patrick Hampton came out on his own. Hampton had text Steve Jacobson as Jacobson was his handler and he was also called in by the Oakdale police chief.

She stated there is no misconduct of the bullet or representations of the holes in the clothing.

She stated this luminary hearing was so hostile due to the nature of charges but these defendants still had a fair hearing.

At this time Marlisa Ferreira had finished her rebuttal and it was the end of the day, the counter arguments will be heard on August 4 at 9:30 AM in department #2

LADY JUSTICE RAPED

By Warren Yates

I am writing this article on July 6, 2017 and I am highlighting some of my prior comments from past commentaries. You will understand the title better as you read through the article. It will be obvious that Lady Justice has been a victim of perversion and rape at the hands of the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office for years. One of the final non-consensual acts of gross misconduct occurred on May 1, 2017. That final act involved Mark Davis once charged with numerous felonies. Read on.

12 3 15
“This is an addendum to the article above it. I had already finished the article above to submit, when lo and behold I awoke this morning to an article in the Modesto Bee regarding the Korey Kauffman case. So I will now expound on my opinions of the latest Bee article. There was no mention in the article about why there had been no coverage of the preliminary hearing for nearly 2 weeks. As that pillar of journalism the National Enquirer says “Inquiring minds want to know”. Will we ever?

I am bewildered about what source Mr. Ahumada received the information for this article from. Mr. Ahumada has been as scarce as hen’s teeth in the court proceedings for nearly 2 weeks. I saw him prior to court starting on Monday standing down near the rest rooms. He did not show up in court. Another observer said they saw him talking to “Mr. Microphone” Mark Davis. That may be where he received his information from. Just saying…

DA Ferreira stated that she had received information from someone in court today that attorney Robert Winston had in fact been invited to observe by Mayor Carmen Sabatino. The judge had no idea who Mayor Carmen Sabatino was and DA Ferreira volunteered the information that he is a former Mayor of Modesto, that is been here every day and that Frank Carson represented him in a case the DA brought against Mayor Sabatino. The only thing Ms. Ferreira didn’t volunteer was that the Dist. Atty. lost the case against Mayor Sabatino.

In looking around the courtroom to try to figure out who the snitch was that informed the Dist. Atty., it was a consensus of the gallery after a straw poll, that the snitch could be none other than Mark Davis a.k.a. Mr. Microphone. It could be that he’s putting that wire the district attorney gave him to good use”.

5 27 16 – “While after checking the court index it appears that we have a brand-new “continuance champion” crowned in the person of Davis. Davis was arraigned on numerous felony charges on September 14, 2011. Now five years later, since that time he has had not 23 or 24 continuances, but I got dizzy and stopped counting at 110 continuances. But no deals here. (Note sarcasm). I understand that he was contacted by the Guinness Book of World Records but he had no comment. (Just kidding, I think).

It is known by all of those in the know, that Davis wears a wire at all times. A wire that deputy district attorney Melissa Ferreira proudly confirmed in open court that they provided him with. Ever since that time, Davis is referred to as “Mr. Microphone” and coming to a conversation near you”.

12 28 16 – “Martha Carlton Magana then mentioned that “Mr. Microphone”, Mark Davis had worn a wire against Mayor Carmen Sabatino. Melissa Ferreira then stated the defense is constantly telling half truths. (Coming from her I thought that was rather funny). It was openly admitted in court by Ferreira eventually that they had provided a wire to Mark Davis to surreptitiously record anybody he could”.

11 20 15 – “Mr. Martinez asked if the DA wires a responsible person, how long do they have to know the person. Lingerfelt said 1 to 2 days. Well it appears that the DA’s office knows Davis really really well for over 4 1/2 years. The next question becomes, who determines what the definition of responsible is”?

12 17 15 – “But lo and behold parked in the street in front of the court was Mdm. deputy Dist. Atty. and Special Agent Kirk Bunch loading their vehicle with their case. Huddled together with them was Mr. Microphone, Mark Davis. Our first thought was that they were in a high-level conference sorting out the hard day in court. But then, our sixth sense kicked into action and we realized that Mr. Microphone may have just been obtaining new batteries for the wire the deputy Dist. Atty. Ferreira admittedly provided for him. So, watch out people “there are ears around”.

2 5 16 – “I had to leave a little early before lunch to take care something on another case and when I got back from lunch break, they were playing a tape of Miranda Dykes episode with the wire. We in the back of the gallery found the tape to be hard to decipher because of static noise. I thought at the time, detective Lingerfelt should have borrowed the wire that they gave to “Mister Microphone” Mark Davis. I’m sure the one Davis has is state-of-the-art.

Now for the incident I alluded to in the second paragraph above. There were many people standing in the hallway during a break in the proceedings in Department 26. One of those was Davis standing right by the exit door. Kurt Bunch was standing there also. As Mayor Carmen Sabatino walked by Davis, Sabatino merely asked “When’s your trial Mark?” Davis in a rude and threatening response said “Fuck you”.

Bunch who may be one of the district attorney’s investigator handlers of Davis, immediately stepped in between facing Mayor Sabatino with his back toward Davis and escorted Mayor Sabatino out the door. The one that should’ve been escorted out the door should have been the foul-mouthed County snitch Mr. Microphone. Bunch could have escorted the real troublemaker out without worry because the district attorney investigators still have Davis by his peaches or in Davis’s case, maybe marbles. Mayor Sabatino stated that Bunch better never ever touch him again.

Hopefully Davis’s handlers at the District Attorney’s Office will muzzle the mutt so that his obscene outbursts will cease and desist.

It is obvious that the District Attorney’s Office is expecting to extract something very special from Davis since his felony charges have been put off for many years with way over 110 continuances thus allowing Davis to evade justice. However, the citizens of Stanislaus County and the people of the State of California are being denied justice in Davis’s cases. The delay by the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office in prosecuting Davis is like three-day-old fish. “IT STINKS”!!! Thus, the title of this commentary “Justice Delayed Is Justice Lost.

The citizens of Stanislaus County should demand that the District Attorney’s Office proceed immediately with the prosecution of this privileged defendant charged with numerous felonies including grand theft, conspiracy and perjury”.

7 7 17 There were two other defendants in the case with Davis. One of the defendants, Janelle Llorens, was intimidated into pleading to a felony after being over charged with multiple felonies in order to scare her from going to trial.

The other person charged along with Davis was AJ Pontillo. He was charged with six felonies. Mr. Pontillo went to trial and was represented by Frank Carson. After a lengthy trial, the jury came back and acquitted Mr. Pontillo of ALL charges. This was one of the many high profile cases that the district attorney prosecuted against the citizens and was then soundly defeated by Frank Carson in court.

UPDATE ON THE PROGRESS OF BRINGING THE THIRD PERSON TO “JUSTICE”:

With all of the continuances and delays in prosecuting Mark Davis, a preliminary hearing was scheduled for September 6, 2016 but that date was vacated. On May 1, 2017 another preliminary hearing was scheduled and that date was vacated. On that same date May 1, 2017 often referred to as May Day was really a “miracle” day for Mark Davis. On that day, all of his charges were dismissed.

From the Stanislaus County Court Index:

So now Davis is running around free as a bird with no apparent worries of being prosecuted. He has also had his bail license reinstated. I’m sure that the District Attorney’s Office has a vast supply of Davis’s business cards to hand out to arrestees and the arrestees will probably receive a special discounted DA rate.

This is an absolute slap in the face to all law-abiding taxpaying citizens of Stanislaus County. These egregious miscarriages of justice, because Lady Justice has had many miscarriages at the hands of the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office under the leadership of Fladagar. Lady Justice only hangs around praying for a groundswell of support to dethrone the penthouse goddess of the secret top floor. As more and more people become victims of the vindictive nature of the district attorney, they should demand that she not run again for district attorney and bring more shame upon Stanislaus County.

That being said, citizens should demand accountability from the District Attorney’s Office for allowing one of their wired snitches to escape serious felony charges while thousands of others charged with serious felonies do not have the same “grease” with the district attorney that Mark Davis has. The Board of Supervisors who provide the funding for the District Attorney’s Office should be put on notice by their constituents, that if a detailed and thorough investigation of the District Attorney’s Office by a “Special Counsel” is not requested, all of those supervisors refusing to do so should be removed from office.

Stories like this should be headlines in the Modesto Bee but because they are in bed with the district attorney, truths such as these will never see print their paper. They have obviously colluded (That word is getting tossed around a lot lately on the national level) with the DA and become complicit in hiding the DA’s judicial misconduct.

We have seen the Modesto Bee go from having a full block between H and I streets with mighty huge printing presses resonating throughout the building, to having the mighty buildings sold, having papers printed in Sacramento and trucked to Modesto for distribution, to moving into the third floor of the old Penny’s building on J Street. That is a huge come down from the mighty giant they used to be here in Modesto. Maybe if they started printing the truth about local politics they would have a much higher and well-paying circulation. Karma is a b***h but well deserved in this case.

As a sideline to my above commentary I wish to add a personal experience that happened to me. On June 19, 2017 I was in Department 10 for preliminary hearing on one of my cases. During the course of the hearing which lasted two days, Kirk Bunch and Marlissa Ferreira had occasion to come into the courtroom carrying abundance of binders and files for a case apparently that was scheduled to go on.

But, due to the length of the preliminary hearing I was on that was not possible. I was seated in the gallery at the time and when they came in they obviously saw me sitting there as they passed me by to go toward the “well”. After being advised that their case would not be going that day, they turned to walk out and as Kirk walked toward me he gave me a gentleman’s look and a nod which I appreciated considering some of the things I have said about him in my commentaries.

Marlissa on the other hand, walked right past me with her nose stuck up in the air as if to escape the odor of her feet. And I acknowledge that I have said some things about her in my commentaries as I did Kirk but I was not worried about getting charged with a libel or slander because the positive defense for both of those is “TRUTH”. So any case for slander or libel would be as thin as a slice of ham in a Muslim delicatessen.

My point in mentioning this is that in this brief exchange in court between Kirk and Marlissa and I, I have to hand it to Kirk, he was definitely the bigger man of the two.

That’s all I have for right now but keep your ears open there will be more to follow.