Hospital Board Member Ernest Rivas is switching attorneys before
his misdemeanor molestation trial, which is scheduled for April 12
but likely will get delayed due to the change, according to the
suspect’s prior and new attorneys.
Hospital Board Member Ernest Rivas is switching attorneys before his misdemeanor molestation trial, which is scheduled for April 12 but likely will get delayed due to the change, according to the suspect’s prior and new attorneys.
Rivas, 58, of San Juan Bautista, has retained local lawyer Art Cantu and no longer will be represented by Elvira Zaragoza Robinson. Though the change cannot officially take place until a hearing later this month, Cantu said he expects the trial will get put off until a later date beyond April 12. Both the attorney substitution and a new trial date would have to gain approval from Judge Steven Sanders.
“Mr. Rivas has retained me because I am a jury trial attorney,” Cantu said today, while Robinson also previously confirmed the switch.
Rivas, elected to the San Benito County Health Care District Board in November 2008, is accused of kissing a 16-year-old girl in July while he had taken her on a motorcycle ride in Tres Pinos.
The Hollister Police Department arrested Rivas in August. In February, it released a one-page report on the incident. Police allege it occurred at 1 p.m. July 16 on Quien Sabe Road in Tres Pinos. Under “Circumstances of Incident” in the summary, it notes the following: “Victim alleges that while on a motorcycle ride, the suspect kissed her and put his tongue in her mouth.”
According to the document, it was reported to police at 8:33 p.m. July 19. Officers obtained a warrant and arrested Rivas at 9:15 p.m. July 23 at his home in the first block of Monterey Street in San Juan Bautista, according to the document.
Rivas was booked into the county jail and released after paying bail of $5,000.
Rivas’ trial is scheduled to last three to four days. If convicted, he could spend up to a year in jail and face a fine of up to $5,000.
He had been set to accept a plea bargain on some sort of lesser battery charge, but that fell through last month when the two sides could not come to agreement on details of the proposal.
“We don’t believe he committed any crimes,” Cantu said. “So we’re prepared to go to trial.”
