ER - Judge Wilson denies release of Whitethorn defendants in kidnapping, rape case Friday

Judge Wilson denies release of Whitethorn defendants in kidnapping, rape case Friday
by Kara D. Machado, 8/18/2006

As of Friday afternoon, three of the four Whitethorn kidnapping/rape defendants will not be released on their own recognizance (OR).

Levi Cole Garza and his brother Nate Robin Garza, both 21, and Deshawn Lee Moore, 32, appeared in Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Christopher Wilson’s courtroom Friday, handcuffed to one another.

Moore led the trio — all wearing jail-issued orange jumpsuits — followed by Levi Garza, then Nate Garza. While sitting in the front row of the jury box, the three men appeared somber.

At the beginning of the trio’s proceeding, Kenneth Bareilles — attorney for Levi Garza — told Wilson that his client had since decided he did not want to be released on OR.

“He does not want to be released” from jail, Bareilles told Wilson. “He knows he is going to prison” and would like to use his time in jail as time served when being sentenced.

Wilson acknowledged the withdrawal of the OR request and initiated a future contact visit with Garza’s infant daughter.

According to Wilson’s comments in court, Garza’s significant other was pregnant at the time of his arrest and the child was born while he was in jail.

Garza, who is facing up to eight years in a state penitentiary, should have some kind of contact with his daughter before going to prison, Wilson said, and requested that officials look into the visit.

Neal Sanders, attorney for Nate Robin Garza, remained steadfast with his request for his client to be released on OR and be given a reduced bail.

In court, Sanders accused the victim in the Whitethorn case of lying during her testimony and said his client was not even present during any false imprisonment of the victim.

Wilson disagreed, saying Nate Garza acted in concert to the criminal events surrounding the victim and denied his OR request.

Moore’s attorney, Mike Eannarino, told Wilson that his client’s mistake was “simply being there and living at the house” during the time the victim said she was imprisoned and raped.

Moore had just moved into the Whitethorn home at the beginning of this year, in January or February, after moving from Birmingham to Seattle.

Wilson said, as with the other defendants, he is unsure to what he will sentence them. However, what he does know, Wilson said in court, is what they all pleaded guilty to and determined none were good candidates for OR.

Ultimately, Wilson denied OR to Moore as well.

Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Schwartz said the defense attorneys’ arguments, in regard to the case, were “audacious” and merely a “futile effort” to get their clients out on OR.

The three men — as well as Gregory Donald Scheider, 31 — were accused of kidnapping and raping a woman in Whitethorn in March. Each had charges against them dropped as part of a deal with the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.

The men have been in jail since their March 16 arrest.

All four defendants pleaded guilty to a variety of charges earlier this month:

- Levi Garza was charged with kidnapping with the intent to commit robbery or rape, conspiracy to sexually assault, sodomy in concert and possession of marijuana for sale;

- Nate Garza was charged with kidnapping with the intent to commit robbery or rape, conspiracy to sexually assault, unlawful oral copulation and sodomy in concert;

- Scheider was charged with kidnapping with the intent to commit robbery or rape, conspiracy to sexually assault, sodomy in concert and unlawful possession of a specified controlled substance; and

- Moore was charged with kidnapping with the intent to commit robbery or rape, conspiracy to sexually assault, unlawful oral copulation and sodomy in concert.

Then, as part of a plea deal — which included a lie detector test — the foursome pleaded guilty to rape in concert and false imprisonment, with Levi Garza additionally pleading guilty to kidnapping and marijuana trafficking.

Schwartz has said three of the lie-detector results came back in the defendants’ favor. One was inconclusive.

As a result of the tests, the sex offense charges were dropped against the foursome.

Both Nate Garza and Moore are facing a maximum of three years in prison.

Scheider is scheduled for his OR hearing Monday.

Most likely, Wilson has said, he will deny all the OR requests.

The men are scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 13, at 2 p.m., in the Humboldt County Courthouse in courtroom three.

(Kara D. Machado may be reached via e-mail at kmachado@eurekareporter.com.)

Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.

Update:
Sentencing continued in statutory rape trial 5/21/2007