ER - Yunque found not guilty

Yunque found not guilty
by Kara D. Machado, 1/26/2007
A jury found Carol Ann Yunque not guilty of assaulting Kathleen McLaughlin.

The jury’s verdict was announced Thursday morning, although jurors made their decision after less than an hour Wednesday.

Yunque was obviously happy.

“This is the end of a very, very long vigil,” Yunque said. “And I will have to rebuild my life; this has destroyed my life.”

Yunque, 59, of Princeton, N.J., could have faced a maximum of three years in prison had she been convicted of felony battery with serious bodily injury, her attorney Mark C. Bruce, has said.

The case stems from a Jan. 27, 2006, incident in which Yunque slapped McLaughlin, 55, of Port Orford, Ore., at a mutual friend’s house in Fortuna.

McLaughlin claimed Yunque had punched her, not slapped her, causing two fractures to her jaw and chin area and misalignment of her bottom teeth. McLaughlin also claimed the act was not done in self-defense.

Bruce said, in talking with jurors after court proceedings Thursday, “it was very clear to them that (Yunque) acted in self-defense.”

“I think they did justice,” Bruce said. “I think they listened, heard the truth and recognized the truth, and were not afraid (to) bring their verdict based on the truth.

“It was a really good jury.”

Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Schwartz, who prosecuted Yunque, said he was disappointed with the verdict, but respectful of the jurors’ judgment.

Schwartz said when he, too, talked to the jurors Thursday, they told him one reason they reached their verdict was because they had reasonable doubt Yunque may or may not have acted in self-defense.

“They had reasonable doubt and that’s all that counts,” Schwartz said, “and I certainly respect them on that issue.”

Schwartz said it was hard to phone McLaughlin with the jury’s verdict and that she was disappointed, as was he.

“I’m a little surprised of the quickness of the verdict,” Schwartz said. “I would have thought there would have been more deliberation, but I’m always respectful of what jurors have to do.

“ ... They’re set as objective fact finders. That’s what our system is all about and I believe that’s fair.”

Bruce said he believes what took place between Yunque and McLaughlin last year was “exactly what I told the jury.”

“(Yunque) slapped (McLaughlin) because McLaughlin was being very threatening, and McLaughlin used that as an opportunity to try to cash in,” Bruce said, “and went around to where the blood (was later found) in the garage and told her boyfriend to loosen a tooth and ‘we’ll sue her,’ and he just hit her a little too hard.”

Schwartz said he still maintains Bruce’s version of what happened is “ridiculous.”

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