These are some recent victories by attorneys I work with.
People v. A.R. – Disposition: 11/17/2020 – Credit Time Served
Attorney: Craig Thigpen
Defendant’s Exposure: Life
Disposition: Credit time served for involuntary manslaughter
Allegations: Defendant was allegedly manufacturing drugs. An explosion at the lab caused the death of one of the person’s who was allegedly making the drugs, so Defendant was charged under the felony murder rule.
Strategy: The truth.
Comments: Investigation revealed that shortly before the explosion, the victim was having problems with the power cell on his vape pen. It became apparent that the explosion was not caused by anything illegal; rather, the defective vape pen exploded.
My Role: I conducted research on vape pen explosions.
People v. A.P. – Disposition: 11/17/2020 – Not Guilty
Allegations: Defendant allegedly pointed a firearm neighbors and threatened them.
Strategy: Specific motions in limine.
Comments: Motions in limine played a significant role in this case, especially by keeping out evidence related to additional firearms used by defendant.
My Role: I assisted Mr. Lampkin with jury selection and I helped with extensive research on motions in limine.
People v. T.J. – Disposition: 11/5/2020 – All charges dismissed, seized property ordered returned
Allegations: Defendants allegedly entered a neighbor’s house, assaulted him, and took property.
Strategy: Extensive investigation and specific motions in limine.
Comments: Codefendants represented by James Rogers and Jennifer Dunlap were found not guilty on all counts. The jury also hung on the defendant represented by Mai Shawwa.
My Role: I assisted Mr. Lampkin with extensive research on motions in limine. A significant motion resulted in the defendants facing one less serious felony charge at trial.
People v. J.R. – Disposition: 1/29/2020 – Time Served
Disposition: Plea for credit-time-served (one day) on one case. Other case dismissed.
Charges (two cases):
Willful Cruelty to a Child (dismissed)
Willful Cruelty to a Child (dismissed)
Spousal Battery (dismissed)
Unregistered Vehicle (dismissed)
Driving Without Insurance (dismissed)
Driving Under the Influence (pled no contest)
Driving With Blood Alcohol Level >.08 (dismissed)
Allegations: Defendant assaulted her husband before loading the children into the car and driving away drunk. While this may look like a minor case, it was quite serious. A conviction could result in the loss of Defendant’s children as well as a ten-year firearms prohibition.
Strategy: Extensive investigation, including interviews of friends, family, and neighbors, indicated that Defendant’s spouse was abusing her and was an extremely violent person. Defendant was attacked by her husband, so she fled with the children even though she had been drinking. Her choice was to flee or face greater harm at the hands of her abuser. She chose to flee.
Comments: This case was won by revealing extensive evidence of abuse by Defendant’s spouse. J.R.’s former attorney made little progress on the case, so Mr. Lampkin took over and truculently attacked Defendant’s spouse with his past and continuing abhorrent behavior. Credit must go to Mr. Lampkin for seeing that the Defendant was a victim, not a criminal.
My Role: Naturally, I would like to take credit for this outstanding outcome, but I only typed a few pleadings under Mr. Lampkin’s direction.
People v. F.O., BF169959A – Disposition: 1/28/2020 – All Charges Dismissed
Maintain a Property for Sale of a Controlled Substance
Allegations: A massive drug manufacturing facility was located at Defendant’s home.
Strategy: Blame the codefendant and explain that marijuana at the scene was needed for Defendant’s invalid wife.
Comments: This case was won more by proving the codefendant guilty than by proving the Defendant innocent. Investigation revealed that Defendant’s wife was extremely ill and using marijuana to treat her condition. This information was used to mitigate Defendant’s minimal involvement in the manufacturing operation. Credit must go to Mr. Lampkin for putting together a clear, coherent, and true story of what was actually happening at the home.
My Role: Draft motions for the attorney’s review. Assist with review and conversion of electronic evidence.
Disposition: Plea for No Time (concurrent sentence)
Charges:
Assault with Great Bodily Injury (with multiple enhancements)
Allegations: Defendant and fellow gang members assaulted a fellow jail inmate, causing extreme injury.
Strategy: Experts
Comments: This extremely violent jail assault was caught on camera, so it was difficult to deny the Defendant’s involvement. However, the assault was substantially over when Defendant joined, so prison culture expert Dr. Jesse De La Cruz was retained. Dr. De La Cruz suggested that Defendant acted under extreme duress and would himself be assaulted if he did not join in the attack on a fellow inmate, so he was only minimally culpable.
My Role: Drafted motions for the attorney’s review.
People v. P.P., DF012547A – Disposition: 12/16/2019
Allegations: A razor blade was allegedly found in the prison cell where Defendant was housed.
Strategy: Art is life. Defendant did not possess the razor as a weapon; rather, he is an artist and needed the razor to sharpen his pencils and otherwise create works of art.
Comments: Instead of trying to prove the Defendant not guilty of the charges, the attorney tried to prove that the Defendant was a drug addict who possessed the drugs for personal use. Some jurors believed the defense, which appears to be the truth, but not all jurors agreed, so the jury hung.
My Role: Extensive research on what constitutes a weapon; draft motions for the the attorney’s review; draft motions in limine for the attorney’s review.
People v. O.E., SF019120A – Disposition: 12/11/2019 – Acquitted
Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Great Bodily Injury
Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Great Bodily Injury
Elder Abuse
Petty Theft
Allegations: Defendant entered the home of a former friend, picked up a lamp and broke it over his friend’s head. Defendant then picked up a baseball bat and continued the assault, including hitting a senior citizen who tried to intervene. Defendant confessed multiple times, including writing several letters to the Prosecution and the court and confessing on the record during court proceedings.
Strategy: Challenge Defendant’s many confessions as being the product of mental illness and, thus, invalid. Alternatively, the confessions were ambiguous because Defendant did not confess to the crimes as alleged but merely confessed to “hitting” his friend, which could be with minimal force, not amounting to the crime alleged. Counsel also aggressively attacked the credibility of the complaining witnesses.
Comments: This case was won with motions in limine and extremely aggressive cross-examination. The motions in limine kept out the many confessions and severely limited the prosecution’s evidence. The attorney then conducted an extremely combative cross-examination of the complaining witnesses, which resulted in the trier of fact losing faith in their credibility.
Allegations: Defendant was stopped while riding his bicycle. He had a large amount of methamphetamine in his possession.
Strategy: Defendant is a drug addict, not a drug dealer.
Comments: Instead of trying to prove the Defendant not guilty of the charges, the attorney tried to prove that the Defendant was a drug addict who possessed the drugs for personal use. Some jurors believed the defense, which appears to be the truth, but not all jurors agreed, so the jury hung.
My Role: Draft motions for the attorney’s review.
People v. J.J., BF174854A – Disposition: 10/01/2019
Disposition: Plea for No Time (concurrent sentence)
Charges:
Resist Executive Officer
Resist Officer Resulting in Great Bodily Injury
Possession Controlled Substance While Armed
Possession of Firearm by Felon
Possession of Ammunition by Prohibited Person
Possession of Narcotic for Sale
Possession of Controlled Substance for Sale
Under the Influence While Armed
Allegations: Defendant was contacted by law enforcement while armed and in possession of drugs. During a subsequent struggle, an officer was shot through the hand,
Strategy: Police misconduct. The officer was shot by a fellow officer, not Defendant.
Comments: In addition to the current case that carried a possible life sentence, Defendant was facing 8 years and 8 months for a probation violation. The attorney successfully negotiated a disposition where the Defendant would serve less than the required time for the probation violation and no additional time for the charged offenses. The attorney showed that Defendant didn’t shoot anyone – one officer was shot by another officer during a tragic accident.
My Role: Extensive work reviewing evidence, preparing motions, and discussing strategies.
People v. M.C., BF175732B – Disposition: 9/17/2019
Disposition: Probation with Less than One Year Custody
Charges:
Possession of Narcotic for Sale
Possession of Narcotic for Sale
Possession of Controlled Substance for Sale
Accessory
Allegations: A massive amount of drugs were found in the home with Defendant, and ample evidence of manufacturing and sales were present.
Strategy: Defendant was a visitor.
Comments: Extensive investigation showed that Defendant only recently entered the country. He was, therefore, logically not involved in the ongoing drug distribution scheme. The attorney’s performance cannot be overestimated, but much of the credit for this amazing disposition goes to the defense investigator, Joe Serrano.
My Role: Prepare motions under the attorney’s direction.
