During the last hearing, Judge James Iwasko ordered defendant Ryan Durazo, 20, to appear in court, despite the fact that Durazo only faces misdemeanor charges.
The defendant had not been present at prior court hearings.
Dressed in a white dress shirt and a black tie, Durazo looked straight ahead, with an emotionless expression, during the proceeding.
Durazo's attorney, Patrick Fisher, requested a continuance until Aug. 23, as he was awaiting evidence that included video footage and audio recordings.
District Attorney Cathy Pringle, who is prosecuting the case, said she had not seen nor received any request for evidence but said she will process it and present evidence to the defense.
Both attorneys agreed to the continuance, and the defendant was ordered to return to court next month for the hearing slated at 8:30 a.m. in Department 6.
Durazo is charged with misdemeanor counts of petty theft of lost property, assault and unlawful transportation or disposal of a dead animal, after he allegedly tossed a deceased dog's body from a truck at a group of teachers during a demonstration in Orcutt in March.
An unnamed 17-year-old juvenile also was charged in connection with the incident. Matters for the minor charged in the case are being held in Santa Maria Juvenile Court.
The dog, named Sam, belonged to the Schwark family, of Orcutt. Sam reportedly disappeared from the Schwark home March 16, just two days before his body was tossed out the truck window at the rally. It is unclear whether the dog died from natural causes before it was tossed from the truck.
Sophia Schwark, who was present in court with her family and several animal rights activists from Davey's Voice, said she was relieved that Iwasko ordered the defendant to appear in court again for the next hearing date.
In most cases, defendants charged with misdemeanors do not have to appear in court, if they have an attorney present on their behalf.
However, a defendant must appear under judge's orders. Failure to appear could result in an arrest warrant.
Fisher requested the court to allow his client to be absent at the next hearing, which Iwasko denied.
"It gave me a bit of inner peace when the judge ordered for his appearance, but (my family) will show up no matter what, whether he's in court or not," Schwark said.
"Seeing (the defendant) in court for the first time today was kind of tough," Schwark added. "It was hard to see him because I feel like he doesn't care. I want to ask, 'Why have you done something like this?' You may not be totally guilty of everything that happened that day, but doesn't it bother you as a person when you did do something wrong?"
(Santa Maria Times - July 29, 2016)
No comments:
Post a Comment