Former sheriff’s deputy accused of raping 4 women, domestic
violence
The defense attorney for Michael Rodrigues, a former sheriff’s
deputy accused of rape, questioned two witnesses on the stand
Tuesday at a preliminary trial hearing and focused on the
credibility of the law enforcement investigation and one of the
character witnesses.
Former sheriff’s deputy accused of raping 4 women, domestic violence
The defense attorney for Michael Rodrigues, a former sheriff’s deputy accused of rape, questioned two witnesses on the stand Tuesday at a preliminary trial hearing and focused on the credibility of the law enforcement investigation and one of the character witnesses.
Former San Benito County sheriff’s deputy and detective Jeff Goodwin said that when he had been working in the sheriff’s office during the 2007 internal investigation of Rodrigues, he was not allowed to use his office while an audio interview for the case was changed. When he asked what was happening in his office, he said a detective told him that’s what the law enforcement personnel were doing.
Goodwin also said that he went to the district attorney’s office to report the “inappropriate behavior” to District Attorney Candice Hooper.
Rodrigues’ attorney Art Cantu called on a second witness who previously had worked for and with the former sheriff’s deputy and is the current Presidential Security, owner John Klauer.
Cantu called another resident to the stand, but the witness could not be there for personal reasons.
The jurors were divided into two groups, and one was set to report for summons at 12:30 p.m. Aug. 26, while the other group was scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Aug. 27.
The trial has been rescheduled to begin Aug. 31 at the courthouse if jurors are secured.
Rodrigues, a 25-year sheriff’s office deputy, is accused or raping four women, with additional counts for unlawful sexual penetration and domestic violence, according to court documents.
After a San Benito County Sheriff’s Office investigation, a local grand jury in December 2007 indicted Rodrigues alleging he had raped three women, while prosecutors added another suspected victim in September 2008.
Last week, defense attorney Art Cantu contended that one of the four suspected victims has signed a declaration recanting her story. Deputy District Attorney Patrick Palacios said it doesn’t change the status of the case or whether the prosecution pursues convictions for all four allegations.
