A month after the inception of District Attorney John
Sarsfield’s standing criminal grand jury, jurors made an indictment
on their first case last week.
A month after the inception of District Attorney John Sarsfield’s standing criminal grand jury, jurors made an indictment on their first case last week.
Salinas resident Jose Jimenez, 43, was indicted on one count of assault with a deadly weapon after being arrested Jan. 12, when he engaged in an altercation with a San Benito County Sheriff’s Deputy.
K-9 Deputy Sheriff Adam Lobdell witnessed Jimenez broadside a pick-up truck with two male occupants at the intersection of Highway 156 and Fairview Road. When he attempted to offer assistance Jimenez charged him, brandished a knife at Lobdell, threw it at him and subsequently got back in his car and attempted to run the deputy down, said Sheriff Curtis Hill at the time of the incident.
After firing several rounds into Jimenez’s car he was eventually restrained by Lobdell’s German Shepherd, Jack, who bit him several times on the hand, leg and ankle, Hill said.
“(Lobdell) didn’t realize what he had,” Hill said in an earlier interview. “The suspect has a 20-year history of mental illness.”
Jimenez was charged on four criminal counts – attempted murder of a police officer, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, felony resisting arrest and felony assault on a police dog – and has been in custody at the San Benito County Jail since.
The single count of attempted murder of a police officer carries a life sentence with the possibility of parole if convicted.
“For me, the issue is the bad state of mental health treatment available out there for the community,” Hill said. “These people are slipping through the cracks.”
Because of Jimenez’s history of mental illness the judge suspended criminal proceedings awaiting a doctor’s report to determine whether he was competent to stand trial, said his attorney, Public Defender Greg LaForge.
“Anytime you have somebody you think is mentally incompetent the judge says, ‘freeze, time out’ for about a month,” LaForge said. “Then I get a call that they’re arraigning my client on a grand jury indictment. The DA obviously didn’t like the judge’s ruling and then went around and got a grand jury.”
Sarsfield did not return phone calls made to his office Monday.
Although the case involves a police-officer involved shooting, the District Attorney’s office already conducted an investigation into the shooting and ruled it legitimate. They have yet to disclose this report to the defense, although by law they are required to, LaForge said.
The grand jury’s transcripts, which are also required to be disclosed to the defense after an indictment is handed down, have to be delivered within 10 days, he said.
“My issue right now, since the judge ordered the criminal proceedings suspended is, is the DA violating the court order by going around the judge’s ruling and calling a criminal grand jury?” he said. “I’ve never heard of it happening. So that’s a legal issue that I’m going to have to research and review – to see if they can even do what they did.”
LaForge believes the single indictment of assault with a deadly weapon, which carries a maximum of five years if convicted, was the only count the jury could indict on because there wasn’t enough evidence for the other charges.
“The next rational conclusion is, ‘Gee, what if my client would have had an attorney representing him?'” he said. “He got three charges knocked out and he didn’t even have an attorney present. They’re trying to hide the ball and it backfired on them.”
The case will go back before the judge for a continued arraignment March 24, where LaForge will enter a plea and a trial date will be set.
“There’s no pressing need in this case. This isn’t a gang case, they’re not investigating the officer’s conduct,” he said. “This is just for this guy – so why not let the system run its course?”
