The case against former San Benito County sheriff’s Sgt. Michael
Rodrigues began today in San Benito County Superior Court after
jury selection was completed Tuesday. Opening statements have
already concluded, and the prosecution has called its first two
witnesses.
HOLLISTER
The case against former San Benito County sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Rodrigues began today in San Benito County Superior Court after jury selection was completed Tuesday. Opening statements have already concluded, and the prosecution has called its first two witnesses.
Rodrigues is charged with raping four women, stemming from incidents that allegedly began in the spring of 1999. On top of the four rape charges, Rodrigues also faces charges of unlawful sexual penetration and domestic violence. The trial is being heard by visiting Monterey County Judge Alan Hedegard.
After relatively short opening statements, the prosecution called its first witness, one of the suspected rape victims. Most of her testimony focused on the night of the incident and she testified that Rodrigues was acting “like I’ve never seen (him) before.”
During the cross examination, the defense questioned whether there was any consent during the suspected rape when things escalated. The witness said there was consent at first, but after things turned differently, she said “no” to everything.
Before that, though, opening statements began with Assistant District Attorney Patrick Palacios thanking the jury for being there and told them a juror has the greatest job in the world because they can “seek the truth and do justice.”
The prosecutor of the case then went on to highlight the story of each suspected victim. While recounting the details of the suspected incidents between Rodrigues and each suspected victim, Palacios continually reminded the jurors that Rodrigues didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.
“Nobody says ‘no’ to me,” he said in reference to Rodrigues.
In summarizing each victim’s case, Palacios talked about how Rodrigues would “find” his victims while he was on patrol or how he approached one of his suspected victims in the parking lot at Jerry’s Restaurant and took her to a remote location to have his way. Palacios concluded that these stories will be confirmed by witness testimony.
“I expect that we’re going to hear from others that have witnessed this behavior from an out-of-control Mikey Rodrigues.”
Palacios finished the prosecution’s opening statement predicting how the defense might handle the trial.
“(They) may have the audacity to say one of the victims never had a relationship. That’s Mikey, deny, deny and attack,” Palacios said. “Nobody says ‘no’ to Mikey.”
Below is video from opening statements. The story continues under it.
For the defense’s opening statement, attorney Art Cantu attempted to discount many of the stories of the suspected victims by pointing out inconsistencies. For example, when reviewing one of the stories of the third suspected victim, Cantu said she was reportedly raped multiple times and yet moved in with Rodrigues. Along with that, he contended internal affairs investigators with the sheriff’s office and Hollister police detectives talked with her and showed no effort to corroborate her story.
Cantu also told the jurors to follow the No. 1 rule in jury selection – use common sense and listen for the truth.
“Is it true, is it true?” he said. “Is what you’re hearing true?”
When Cantu got to the last suspected victim, he discredited her story by saying that the first time the two met, Rodrigues raped her but, shortly thereafter, fell in love.
“Does that sound like the beginning of a relationship with flowers and romance?” he questioned.
After opening statements, the prosecution also called its second witness to the stand, who is a close friend of the first witness. The first suspected victim called to the stand this morning phoned the second witness, a friend of hers, the following morning, according to the testimony.
Look back for more later.
