A judge dismissed the five felony charges against Los Valientes
attorney Michael Pekin Monday stemming from a criminal grand jury
indictment leveled against him four months ago.
Hollister – A judge dismissed the five felony charges against Los Valientes attorney Michael Pekin Monday stemming from a criminal grand jury indictment leveled against him four months ago.
However, District Attorney John Sarsfield was not discouraged by the judge’s ruling and said he will appeal the decision with the 6th District Court of Appeals in San Jose within a couple weeks.
Visiting Monterey County Judge Alan Hedegard offered no explanation about his decision to grant Pekin’s motion to dismiss the felony charges, which included obstructing justice, attempting to elicit perjury and filing frivolous lawsuits. He simply stated that Pekin’s motion was granted, pushed his chair away from the bench and walked into his chambers.
Pekin, who faced up to three years in prison if convicted and could have been stripped of his ability to practice law, was exuberant when he heard the ruling.
“I won,” Pekin exclaimed in the deserted court room with a look of excitement and amazement plastered on his face.
The grand jury indictment was largely based on Pekin’s filing of unsigned declarations by two San Benito County Planning Department employees in an attempt to obtain a restraining order against former Planning Director Rob Mendiola, which a judge denied. Employees Jim Stevens and Ken Speciale claimed they had evidence that would implicate Mendiola in Pekin’s ongoing lawsuit against the county and former Supervisor Richard Scagliotti alleging governmental corruption and involving the anonymous group Los Valientes.
While the prosecution believes Pekin broke the law by submitting the unsigned declarations to the court because they allege he knew the declarations included false statements, Pekin claimed he did no such thing and the charges were baseless. The grand jury, which indicted Pekin, was presided over by Special Deputy District Attorney John Picone, who also was in court Monday.
“There is no evidence that Michael Pekin knew there were any false statements in the draft,” Pekin said in court, speaking in the third-person. “In asking for a restraining order to protect those two whistle blowers, no crime was committed. The only person who says there was, was none other than and solely Mr. Picone.”
Picone declined to comment on Hedegard’s decision, but Sarsfield said he doesn’t consider the ruling a loss and will file a motion to appeal the ruling in San Jose in a week or two. However, he would not say on what grounds he plans to appeal Hedegard’s decision.
“We respectfully disagree with the judge’s decision, but it’s not over,” Sarsfield said. “This case is very complicated and I am sure there will be lots of twists and turns – that’s why we have a court of appeals. There will be no quick resolution. I expect it will drag on and on for six months to a year.”
Whether Pekin’s criminal woes are over or not, fighting the charges has consumed his life for the past four months. The case slowly made its way through the legal system since his indictment and arrest in February.
Pekin spent about two-and-a-half hours outlining the reasons he believed the indictment should be dismissed. He meticulously read statements made by Picone and members of the grand jury from the more than 400 pages of grand jury transcripts. He included arguments form his own motion to dismiss the indictment – which, at 300 pages, rivaled the transcripts in length. But the crux of Pekin’s argument was that Picone withheld evidence from grand jury members that would exonerate him and that he was indicted without probable cause.
And while Pekin isn’t phased by Sarsfield’s decision to appeal, he isn’t out of the woods yet. Pekin, his son and attorney Patrick Pekin and his aide, Amanda Hernandez, are still involved in a civil suit brought against them by Sarsfield for filing frivolous lawsuits. Sarsfield’s suit, which he filed last December, asks that Pekin get a judge’s permission before he file any more lawsuits against the county, and that everyone named in the suit pay the county a fine of as much as $500,000 and attorney’s fees. The suit has yet to be resolved.
Hernandez is also facing one misdemeanor charge of practicing law without a license, which stemmed from her involvement in drafting Speciale and Stevens’ declarations. Sarsfield said Hedegard’s ruling has no affect on the pending criminal case against her. Hernandez will appear before a judge in July.
And Pekin is being investigated by the California State Bar into allegations that he illegally involved himself in the Measure G lawsuit brought by San Juan Bautista resident Rebecca McGovern in late 2003, and that he knowingly filed a false document when he submitted Speciale’s declaration.
Additionally, Pekin will not be able to resume his lawsuit against Scagliotti, who declined comment about the indictment’s dismissal, and the county until those legal matters are cleared up.
But Pekin is satisfied with Monday’s ruling.
“You’re a lawyer for 33 years and all of a sudden your own fate and the fate of your loved ones hangs in the balance. And the question is, do you really trust the American justice system?” Pekin said. “A day like today touches the heart and reaffirms the belief that those that have done nothing wrong will be vindicated.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
