District Attorney Candice Hooper acknowledged she did not know
final details of the plea deal for a man accused of shooting his
mother in the face, but said she had been aware of the discussed
alternatives before a deputy prosecutor made the agreement July
13.
HOLLISTER
District Attorney Candice Hooper acknowledged she did not know final details of the plea deal for a man accused of shooting his mother in the face, but said she had been aware of the discussed alternatives before a deputy prosecutor made the agreement July 13.
Hooper also elaborated on a comment to the Free Lance on Tuesday that she doesn’t sign off on such plea deals – “I trust my deputies,” she had said – and stressed that she does have communication with deputy district attorneys before they move ahead with agreements.
Asked today to elaborate on the comment, and she had this to say: “If I didn’t trust my deputies, they wouldn’t be working for me. Yes, they come to me with questions.”
Hooper said she does have discussions before deputy district attorneys move ahead on major decisions. Regarding the case against 41-year-old Ruben A. Garcia, originally charged with attempted murder with a prior strike for allegedly shooting his mother three times in June 2008, Hooper said she had been in court at times for the case and had talks with Deputy District Attorney Patrick Palacios about it.
With the plea agreement, Garcia’s sentence if convicted is reduced from 55 years to life to a 12-year term. He is scheduled for an official sentencing in late September.
“I didn’t know the final decision,” she said regarding the interview Tuesday. “We had talked about different alternatives.”
Hooper emphasized how she is in the office “almost all of the time” and if she’s not, she is available by phone, she said.
“We have communication,” she said, “whether it’s by e-mail or one on one.”
Below is this week’s installment of Hello Hollister featuring Public Defender Greg LaForge.
