Bay Area News Briefs

Bay City News

May 29, 2008

Court Hears Case Pitting Religious Freedom Against Civil Rights

The California Supreme Court began grappling at a hearing in San Francisco Wednesday with the question of whether doctors have a religious freedom right to refuse treatment to a patient because of her sexual orientation.

Jennifer Pizer, a lawyer for lesbian mother Guadalupe Benitez, argued that while doctors have freedom in religious beliefs, the state’s Unruh civil rights law bars them from discriminatory conduct in offering services to some patients and not to others.

Pizer told the court’s seven justices, “The issue before the court is whether having a religious motive matters.”

But Kenneth Pedroza, a lawyer for a Southern California clinic and two doctors, contended that doctors with religious scruples should be able to accommodate religious and civil rights by referring a patient to a different physician.

He argued, “The law should not allow one side to trump the other. The law should work toward an accommodation.”

Benitez, a resident of Oceanside, north of San Diego, sued the North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group and the two doctors for refusing to give her fertility treatments in 2000.

Benitez eventually went to doctors outside her insurance plan and she and her partner became the parents of a 6-year-old boy and 2-year-old twins. But she claims the first two doctors’ refusal to provide artificial insemination caused her emotional distress and cost her thousands of dollars extra.

The court now has 90 days to issue a written ruling on whether the doctors can argue a religious freedom defense in a future San Diego County Superior Court trial on Benitez’ lawsuit.

The case came before the court less than two weeks after the panel ruled by a 4-3 vote that same-sex couples have a right to marry under the California Constitution.

Piano Lesson Shooting Suspects Linked to Perata Carjacking

A man already being prosecuted on charges that he attempted to murder a 10-year-old boy while he was taking a piano lesson has now been linked to the carjacking of state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, Alameda County Chief Assistant District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said Wednesday.

O’Malley said the fingerprints of 24-year-old Jared Adams of Oakland were found in the 2006 red Dodge Charger that was taken from Perata, D-Oakland, at gunpoint near the intersection of 51st Street and Shattuck Avenue in Oakland about 1:45 p.m. on Dec. 29.

O’Malley said fingerprints of 19-year-old Maeve Clifford, who is Adams’ girlfriend, were found on a present inside Perata’s car, which was recovered in Richmond on Dec. 30. Perata, who was unharmed, was on his way to deliver Christmas presents when he was carjacked.

O’Malley said Adams and Clifford have both admitted being involved in the carjacking incident and also have implicated a third person, 24-year-old Ryan McGough of Oakland, who is a longtime friend of Adams.

Adams currently is charged with willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder, armed robbery, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, evading a police officer, driving a stolen vehicle and being an ex-felon in possession of a gun in connection with a Jan. 10 robbery and shooting that left Christopher Rodriguez, who is now 11, paralyzed from the waist down.

Authorities say Adams, Clifford and McGough didn’t know who Perata was, even though he’s one of the most powerful politicians in the state, but they targeted his car because it had 22-inch rims, which they hoped to resell.

According to Oakland police spokesman Roland Holmgren, the bullet that injured Christopher Rodriguez was from one of several shots fired during a robbery attempt at a Chevron gas station at 4400 Piedmont Ave. at Pleasant Valley Road about 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 and traveled across the street and into the Harmony Road Music School, where Christopher was taking a lesson.

The trial for Adams and Clifford on the charges for the Jan. 10 robbery and shooting is scheduled to begin on June 23.

But O’Malley said the trial could be delayed because she would like to consolidate the carjacking case with that case.

Graham Jury Resumes Deliberating Despite Deadlock on Two Counts

Jurors in the case of an Olympic track coach accused of lying told a federal judge in San Francisco Wednesday that they have reached a verdict on one count but are “hopelessly deadlocked” on two others.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston instructed the jurors to resume deliberating in an effort to reach a verdict in the case of Trevor Graham, 44, of Raleigh, N.C. The jurors then deliberated for about 30 minutes more before recessing until this morning.

Graham, whose athletes included disgraced Olympic medalist Marion Jones, is accused of three counts of making false statements to investigators in 2004 about his relationship with an admitted steroids dealer.

The jurors told Illston in a written note they had reached a unanimous decision on the third count, which charged that Graham lied when he said he had not talked to the dealer, Angel “Memo” Heredia, by phone since 1997.

Prosecutors alleged that Graham in fact kept in contact with Heredia until 2000 and presented records of more than 100 phone calls to Heredia’s phone in Laredo, Tex.

The two counts on which the jury said it was deadlocked charged that Graham lied when he said he never set up his athletes with drugs from Heredia and that he never met him in person.

The note about the verdict came at the end of the jury’s first full day of deliberations. The panel deliberated briefly on Tuesday afternoon after receiving the case late that day.

Earlier Wednesday, the jury sent the judge two other notes with questions. One asked for clarification of the definition of “materiality” and the other asked whether jurors could borrow a dictionary.

A finding that the alleged false statements were material, or relevant, to the investigation being conducted is a legal requirement for a guilty verdict.

Defense attorney William Keane argued to the jurors on Tuesday that the three statements were not material.

Follow-Up Tests Show Water May Not Have Mercury

Water in the Las Lomas area of Monterey County most likely does not contain mercury but residents should continue to avoid drinking from the tap until final test results are completed, the California Water Service Company announced Wednesday.

Monterey Bay Analytical Services conducted initial testing of the water Sunday after two locks were found broken at treated water storage tank No. 304 and detected mercury in the drinking water, according to company spokeswoman Shannon Dean.

The 2,000 to 3,000 residents who receive water from the storage tank were subsequently told to stop drinking the water, Monterey County sheriff’s Sgt. Archie Warren said.

Follow-up tests completed by the same independent contract laboratory and Cal Water’s laboratory did not confirm the mercury findings indicated in the initial results, according to Cal Water.

Residents should still not drink the water until the California Department of Public Health confirms the water is safe, Dean said.

The California Department of Public Health will conduct its own tests and review the water service company’s analysis before restoring water service to normal, according to Cal Water.

The results of the mercury tests may be available today and additional tests conducted to expose other possible toxins may be completed within a week, Dean said.

In the meantime those advised not to drink the tap water should save their receipts for any bottled water purchased and will be reimbursed by the California Water Service Company, according to Dean.

The vandalism at the storage tank was discovered Saturday and the sheriff’s department has launched an investigation even though it was not certain whether the water was tampered with, according to Warren.

“There was no evidence to show that anything was actually placed in the water other than the tank was vandalized,” Warren said.

Mayor Battling Cancer Resigns

Santa Rosa Mayor Bob Blanchard, who has been battling cancer, announced his resignation Wednesday.

“I can no longer serve the citizens in the manner that I have during the past six years,” Blanchard said in a statement.

Blanchard’s resignation is effective June 17.

Herb Williams, Blanchard’s spokesman and close friend, said Wednesday afternoon, “His two doctors told him there is nothing more they can do (about the cancer) and he has contacted a hospice.”

Blanchard, 70, has never publicly disclosed details about his cancer. The Santa Rosa City Council recently granted Blanchard a 60-day leave of absence in preparation for another round of chemotherapy. Blanchard had taken two previous leaves for health reasons.

Williams said Blanchard has since decided not to undergo the chemotherapy.

Blanchard was elected to the City Council in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. He has served as mayor since December 2006.

“I wish to thank the council members and staff for their understanding and support during the past two years. I am also overwhelmed by the generosity and well wishes from so many in the community,” Blanchard said in his statement.

Williams said the City Council can appoint someone to complete Blanchard’s term or put the seat up for election on the November ballot. Four other council seats are on that ballot.

First Falcon Chick Takes Flight

One of San Jose’s peregrine falcon chicks took flight Wednesday for the first time, according to a spokeswoman for Mayor Chuck Reed.

San Jose’s falcon couple, Carlos and Clara, had three chicks hatch on Earth Day in their nest atop San Jose City Hall. Biologists from the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group later identified the chicks as being two females and a male.

The biologists believe the male chick flew Wednesday, according to mayoral spokeswoman Michelle McGurk.

“They think it’s the male. They haven’t confirmed but it’s usually the male who’s the first to fly,” McGurk said.

The chick was not expected to be flying this early.

“It’s very precocious,” according to McGurk.

Reed’s office is once again sponsoring a contest to name the three chicks. The winning names will be announced Friday morning.

Carlos and Clara’s nest can be viewed at any time on the city’s Falcon Cam at http://www.sanjoseca.gov.

Half as Many Alcohol-Related Crashes this Memorial Day Weekend

More Bay Area drivers were arrested for drinking and driving this Memorial Day weekend than last year, but half as many fatal crashes involving alcohol were reported, the California Highway Patrol reported Wednesday.

From 6 p.m. Friday through midnight Monday, three alcohol-related fatal crashes in the Bay Area were reported, down from last year’s six deaths that stemmed from drunken driving, according to the CHP.

The number of drivers arrested for drunken driving in the Bay Area increased to 239 this year up from 198 last year on Memorial Day weekend, the CHP reported.

Statewide the number of alcohol-related fatal crashes increased by one death. A total of 38 lives were lost this year due to drinking and driving crashes, according to the CHP.

Five of the deaths this year were due to a single crash in Los Angeles on Memorial Day.

The number of DUI arrests made statewide dropped from 1,614 last year to 1,450 this year, the CHP reported.

Janitors Ratify New Contract, End Strike

Striking Bay Area janitors overwhelmingly approved a new contract Wednesday that will increase their wages by 22 percent, or $2.40 an hour, over the next four years.

The janitors, represented by Service Employees International Union Local 1877, first walked off the job on May 20. They clean approximately 80 percent of the commercial real estate in the South and East Bay areas including most of Silicon Valley’s major high technology and biotechnology companies, according to union spokeswoman Gina Bowers.

“They work at night so they’ll be back today. Some start as soon as 4 p.m.,” Bowers said Wednesday.

The vote was 588 in favor of the contract and 121 opposed, according to Bowers.

Veronica, a janitor opposed to the contract who did not want to give her last name, said raises of 60 cents an hour each year between now and 2011 are not enough.

“The rent’s going up, up, up,” Veronica said. “We deserve more. We are hard workers. We work hard for our families, for the companies.”

San Jose Vice Mayor Dave Cortese was present at union headquarters in San Jose Wednesday afternoon for the ratification vote. He admitted that the janitors, who will now make $11.64 an hour, are at the bottom of the economic ladder.

“We’ve got to make sure that the ground floor isn’t in the basement,” Cortese said. “It’s certainly not what most of us would want to try to live on … but it’s good to see that it’s moving in the right
direction.”

Police Say Parchester Village Murder was Unprovoked Attack

Detectives believe that Domanick Lewis, 25, flew into a rage and killed a 56-year-old man in an unprovoked attack Saturday night just moments after he allegedly assaulted another victim, Richmond police Detective Avon Dobie said Wednesday.

Lewis and the homicide victim, Reginald Garrett, both lived in Richmond’s Parchester Village neighborhood where the attack took place and knew each other, but police don’t believe Lewis had any motive to kill Garrett.

Lewis was drunk and possibly on drugs and appears to have gone into a rage, attacking Garrett on the street in the 600 block of Johnson Drive with his fists and possibly a wooden chair, Dobie said.

Police found Garrett at about 9:15 p.m. lying in the street suffering from blunt force trauma.

Paramedics attempted to revive him, but weren’t able to. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Moments after the attack, Lewis allegedly went home, still in a rage, and a family member called police.

The victim of the first attack, which occurred in the same place, identified Lewis as the alleged assailant, Dobie said.

The first victim suffered only minor injuries and escaped before Garrett was killed, Dobie said. He did not witness the homicide.

Detectives plan to meet with Contra Costa County prosecutors today to determine if there is enough evidence to file charges against Lewis.

In the meantime, Lewis remained in custody Wednesday at the Martinez Detention Facility. His bail was set at $1 million.

Army Solider Dies in Afghanistan

U.S. Army Spc. Christopher Gathercole, 21, of Santa Rosa, died Monday in Ghazni, Afghanistan, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Wednesday.

Gathercole died of wounds suffered from small arms fire during combat operations, the Department said. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Wash.