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News Briefs
Tire Iron Attack Brings Five Years Prison
A man accused of attacking another with a tire iron in Redwood City last
year because the victim was upset he tried to have an affair with his wife was
sentenced to five years in prison for attempted murder.
Fortunato Lopez Martinez, 22, of East Palo Alto, pleaded no contest to the
felony and admitted committing a serious offense in return for five years in
prison. The negotiation plea settlement vacated the jury trial, and prosecutors
also dropped other felony charges like assault with a deadly weapon.
Martinez waived his right to a pre-sentencing report and was immediately
handed the term along with credit for 304 days earned while in custody on
no-bail status. He returns to court Nov. 9 for a restitution hearing.
According to prosecutors, Martinez and the 38-year-old victim had worked
together as landscapers months before the incident but had a falling out. On more
than one occasion, Martinez allegedly called the man’s wife and asked her to
have a relationship. The woman told her husband, who, after spotting Martinez
on Poplar Street on a Sunday morning, confronted him and began a physical fight.
After the victim gained the upper hand, Martinez allegedly told him he had
“just dug his own grave” and retrieved a tire iron from an apartment building
and struck the man several times in the head. The victim required 15 stitches.
Martinez surrendered to police Dec. 30.
Former Dispatcher Arrested Again
The former San Carlos police dispatcher convicted of using friends’ stolen credit
cards on a spending spree of spa treatments and room service is now accused
of forging a judge’s signature on a restraining order against the father of her twins.
The newest charges come while Carolyn Jean Crowley, 39, is on felony
probation for the 2008 conviction of burglary and identity theft.
This time, according to prosecutors, Crowley showed a Redwood City
school an alleged restraining order bearing Judge Beth Freeman’s name to
keep the children’s father from having contact.
At the time of the signature, however, Freeman was in Hawaii on vacation.
Crowley was arrested and appeared in court on felony charges of keeping
children from a custodial parent and forgery. She is being held in lieu of $25,000
bail on the new case and a no-bail hold for allegedly violating her probation.
Before Crowley’s other crimes, she gave birth to twins in 2003. In 2005, their
father learned of the children and obtained visitation. Crowley moved the
kids to St. Pius School in Redwood City without telling him and gave both
him and the school a copy of a restraining order, according to prosecutors.
The father’s attorney contacted the District Attorney’s Office, which in
turn determined the restraining order was a forgery and contained Freeman’s
forged signature, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
The case is the latest for Crowley, who faced up to 58 months in prison
for the credit card theft but instead received eight months in jail as part of a
negotiated plea that dismissed other charges of theft and burglary.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Crowley called several friends
for help after becoming addicted to drugs. The friends allowed Crowley to
stay at their homes for a few days each.
Prosecutors claim Crowley stole credit cards before leaving each friend’s
home and used them for 20 unauthorized purchases, including stays at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel in Foster City, prescription medicine, spa treatments,
clothing and meals.
Accused Stabber Charged
A 57-year-old man arrested for allegedly stabbing another man near a Redwood
City Starbucks was charged with assault.
John Roberson, 57, of East Palo Alto, was arrested on suspicion of attempted
murder but charged with assault with a deadly weapon and causing great bodily
injury against a 51-year-old man.
The two men reportedly exchanged words and the victim punched Roberson
in the face before being stabbed once in the torso at Sequoia Station near the
coffee shop.
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Teenager Indicted for Murder
Prosecutors indicted a teenager extradited from Mexico on murder and knife
charges, saying they were tired of not moving forward with a trial in the 2009
death of a 15-year-old boy who threw rocks at his car.
A criminal grand jury indicted Luis Adolfo Villa, 19, and he will appear in
court for a Superior Court arraignment, said Chief Deputy District Attorney
Steve Wagstaffe.
Villa is expected to enter a plea and set a trial date.
“We needed to make sure this case goes forward. It’s getting older and
older because of his flight,” Wagstaffe said.
The indictment sidesteps a preliminary hearing on the evidence
prosecutors believe proves Villa is guilty of murdering Matthew Johnson.
Unlike in that proceeding, the defense does not participate in the process.
Villa was 17 at the time of the crime but charged as an adult. Another
suspect, Luis Herrera, 21, was also arrested in the attack and last November
was sentenced to time served for felony assault.
Johnson and his alleged killer clashed at approximately 1:20 a.m. Jan. 3,
2009, when authorities say the teen and three friends were throwing rocks at
vehicles in the 100 block of Franklin Street in Redwood City. One reportedly
hit a vehicle carrying Villa and Herrera. The suspects chased Johnson and
his friends down the street and allegedly attacked them. Herrera punched
Johnson while Villa stabbed him several times, according to prosecutors.
Johnson was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Police arrested Herrera at his Hoover Street home four days later. Villa fled
to Mexico where he remained until extradited in early July.
If convicted, he faces 16 years to life in prison. He remains in custody without bail.
Accused Rapist of Vitamin Seller Pleads Not Guilty
A Redwood City man accused of sexually assaulting an acquaintance who came to his
home to sell vitamins pleaded not guilty to several felonies including rape and assault.
Ricardo Zaragoza Mendez, 61, did not waive his right to a speedy trial and
was scheduled for jury trial Nov. 1 on charges including rape, forcible rape,
assault to commit rape, assault and false imprisonment.
Mendez is accused of attacking a 19-year-old woman he knew from an adult
school months earlier. On May 28, the married woman went to Mendez’s
home because he wanted to buy the Herbalife vitamins she sold. After discussing
the items for sale, Mendez allegedly asked her to look at vitamins he already
owned located in his bedroom. Once there, prosecutors say Mendez raped the
woman until she was able to grab a flashlight and strike him several times in the head.
The woman ran to a friend’s residence and contacted police.
Mendez remains in custody in lieu of $200,000 bail.
Not Guilty Plea in Courthouse Gun Case
The man who prosecutors say brought a handgun into the Redwood City
courthouse branch where he was headed to a hearing over child custody
pleaded not guilty to felony firearm charges.
James Douglas Knapp, 45, of Sacramento, is charged with one count of
possessing a firearm in a public building and one count of possessing a
loaded firearm in a public building.
He pleaded not guilty and was ordered back to court for a Superior Court
review conference followed by an preliminary hearing.
Knapp was arrested July 12 after sending a backpack through the X-ray
machine at the security checkpoint at 400 County Government Center in
Redwood City. The center houses county offices, the Sheriff’s Office and
courtroom. Knapp was going to family law court regarding a child custody
issue, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Security guards at the checkpoint reportedly spotted a .45-caliber handgun
in the backpack as it passed through the machine and detained Knapp. Knapp
consented to a search of his car, and deputies reported finding another gun
magazine in the glove compartment.
Knapp reportedly told authorities he had not realized the gun was in his bag.
He remains out of custody on a $50,000 bail bond.
The last similar incident was in September 2007 when Frank Turney of
Pacifica was arrested after trying to walk through the same courthouse metal
detector with a loaded handgun. Turney was going to his son’s arraignment
on assault charges.