A criminal grand jury’s ruling hasn’t been made public on
pending charges against former owners of a now defunct business
accused of dumping toxins into the Hollister sewer system.
Hollister – A criminal grand jury’s ruling hasn’t been made public on pending charges against former owners of a now defunct business accused of dumping toxins into the Hollister sewer system.
The 18-member criminal grand jury met this week to consider indictments against former owners of Central Valley Circuits, spouses Greg and Diana Short, and Lance Strauss, who took over the company’s assets when the Shorts closed shop in 2001.
But the court file will remain sealed until a judge allows otherwise, according to Roy Hubert, the county’s special prosecutor on the case. There’s no definitive timeline for that, but Hubert said it likely would be a matter of weeks.
“Proceedings of the grand jury are sealed. Any indictments are sealed,” said Hubert, who declined to comment on details of the hearings.
The Shorts’ business made circuit boards for the computer industry. The district attorney previously charged them with felony counts on suspicion of illegally storing hazardous waste and then discharging it into the sewer system. Prosecutors suspect they dumped toxic levels of acids, silver and copper, among other dangerous materials.
The Shorts, however, claim the landlord locked them out of the building and therefore could not properly dispose of the materials. Their lawyer, Tom Worthington, didn’t return calls to his office Friday.
Worthington has previously argued the district attorney’s office violated the Shorts’ right to due process, too. The county sued the Shorts in civil court – about 11 months before the criminal complaint’s filing – for many of the same allegations. They paid a $2,000 fine.
Worthington said prosecutors knew about the allegations long before filing the criminal complaint and didn’t act promptly as required by law.
Kollin Kosmicki covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach him at 637-5566, ext. 331 or [email protected].
