UPDATE 1:00 PM minor spelling corrections and (?) notations about name spellings
February 14, 2017
8:40 AM
Testimony from two prosecution witnesses is expected today in order to memorialize their statements for trial. For one witness, this is due to age. For a second witness the prosecution has shared with the court their concerns about the witnesses' safety. The identity of this witness has been kept from the public. I believe at the last hearing the court ordered the people to share the name with the defense team at the end of January.

At the last pretrial hearing, I live-blogged from the courtroom. The consequences of that meant that when I later went into edit, I did not have a back-up copy of my notes and I lost a good portion of my data. So for today's hearing my notes will be posted later. If there are breaks, I may post to Twitter during the hearing.

The courtroom is a nice modern courtroom but the number of seats in the gallery are very few. For the last hearing, most of the seats were taken up by the mainstream media.

Mr. Sprocket Update
It is unknown how long this hearing will take. It could take all day, which will definitely put a damper on Mr. Sprocket's plans for or day. For those of you wondering how Mr. Sprocket is doing, he's slowly recovering.

Last December, the day he was cleared to drive again we learned that he had a broken/ separated rib in his upper right chest, a common byproduct of open heart surgery. It explained why he still had so much pain in one localized spot. It also delayed his recovery and ability to exercise these past two months.

However, he's doing much better now. He's started exercising and working to build his strength back. Sadly, we learned yesterday that his job will not be waiting for him when he is able to return to work.

Last week, I mailed out 'Thank You' gifts to everyone who made a donation to T&T to help us out financially. We can't thank or friends and readers enough, or tell you how much your donation has helped us through this difficult time.

A note to new readers. T&T is 100% reader funded. T&T does not receive any financial backing other than what our readers donate. If you appreciate the public service that T&T provides, consider making a donation to cover T&T's court costs. Thank you.


8:54 AM
Robert Durst Defense Team
Dick DeGuerin arrives with Donald Re and the rest of his team. Donald Re defended German Nationalist Gerhard Becker on involuntary manslaughter in the death of firefighter Glenn Allan. Attorney David Chesnoff arrived in the cafeteria a little after I did.

9:29 AM
On the 8th floor. Several familiar faces among the media. Terri Keith from City News, Marisa Gerber with LA Times, Robert Dean & Andrew Blankstein from Dateline, People Magazine's Christine Pelesik, 48 Hours' Greg Fisher, Brian Melly from the Associated Press. There are other faces that I recognize but I cannot for the life of me place a name with the face. We have two sketch artists today. Bill Blais and Mona Edwards Shaffer.

The defense team also arrived on the 8th floor.

9:40 AM
Mary Hearn of the PIO is here. Her assistant just took role call for the press. But we are learning now that some at the bottom of the list might not get a seat.

10:00 AM
I have a seat! Some seats have been reserved for defense team support staff. They are directly in front of me. I am on the far left of the courtroom and an older, colorful gentleman has the end chair on my left. Greg Fisher is to my right.  Earlier, Bill Blais won the coin toss for sketch artist. Durst is not in the courtroom yet. The Judge is not on the bench yet. I hate this directed, you must sit here seating.

DDA Lewin chatting with Donald Re. I overhear Lewin say something about getting a waiver. It was real quick. There are about eight support staff, possibly more for the defense team. At least five or more for the prosecution. I cannot see over heads.

10:07 AM
More last minute people are being given the final empty seats. I will be switching to draft mode in a few minutes.

10:09 AM
Durst comes out. slowly walking, a back and forth gait.  Fine, Box stripe shirt glasses hanging on for his shirt gray pants. He slowly takes his seat. He turns around to look at the gallery.

[Judge Mark Windham takes the bench. The gallery is called to stand. The bailiff continues his announcement. The court asks the gallery to be seated.]

DeGuerin introduces people to the court. His wife, and I think his son. Stacey (sp?) Manilla.
David Chesnoff. Chip Lewis, Donald Re, (Kathie?) Bane (sp?).

People introduce themselves. Habib Balian, Evan Miller. For the people John Lewin, More people from the prosecution introduced. Lewin also tells the court that there are staff from the crime lab here and other investigative officers are here. George Shamlyan, Elizabeth Camacho, Richard Bankston, (also miss a name). Another DDA states his name for the record.

Judge allows sketch artist only if image is not definitive.

12:45 PM
I raced down to the cafeteria to get some lunch. I then headed back upstairs to the 8th floor to sit on the floor and use the power outlet. In the entire cafeteria, there were only two power outlets and they were being used by people sitting at the tables next to them.

Before the first witness took the stand,  DeGuerin had an objection to a reporter, Charles Bagli with the New York Times being in the courtroom during testimony. DeGuerin tells the court, "We only found out the name of the witness two weeks ago. There is some. indication I can't say that is [a] credible witness, that's some indicate that Mr. Bagli and this witness are collaborating on a book about the case. ... I have not asked Mr. Bagli about that but there is that fact."

The court rules that Bagli can stay in the courtroom during the first witness testimony. He will wait to make a ruling on the secret witness. DDA Lewin argues to the court the unprecedented step of barring a member of the media from the courtroom. He adds,

"... in many cases you have reporters who have long standing interest in cases and I'm [not] aware, ... no authority as an offer of proof ... they're saying they have suspcion of conflicts .. I’m [confident] you have the authority out there, if you take that step  you [will] have a due process issue. ... I would just ask to a hearing prior to that so we can litigate it."

Judge Windham responds to counsel. "Thank you. That’s why I didn't rule on that.  Ofcourse  I’ll entertain any motion from any side and that motion ..."

The first witness is called, Dr. Albert Kuperman. DDA Balian presents the witness.

1. ALBERT KUPERMAN
Dr. Kuperman lives in New York City and is 85 years old.

Several basic themes are presented to the witness about memory and to let the DA know if he doesn't remember, or if his memory might be from something he read or a personal memory.

Dr. Kuperman gives an abbreviated CV. Before he retired, for 40 years he was the Associate Dean of Education at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

More to come.....

UPDATE 1:00 pm
February 17, 2016
Today will be my fourth day at the Airport Courthouse, attending a pretrial hearing in the Robert Durst murder case.

There was a preconceived notion that the hearing would only last three days.  I'm not placing any bets that by 4:30 pm today direct and cross examination of the "secret witness" will be completed. The hearings are to question witnesses the prosecution plans to call at trial just in case these witnesses might not be available by the time the trial takes place. This is conditional testimony and that questioning comes with wider latitudes. There has been testimony that in a regular trial would be considered hearsay, and has not been offered for the truth of the matter. If the witnesses are available for trial, then this conditional testimony is moot. However, if for some reason these witnesses are unavailable, some of this testimony taken today will be admitted at trial. The DA has also taken the step of video taping the witnesses.

I am days behind in posting my detail notes on the last few days of the hearing. Having a recovering husband means my writing time at home is limited.  Until I get those notes published, I will give a short synopsis on what each witness has testified to so far.

On Tuesday the first witness was Dr. Kuperman. He testified about his duties at Albert Einstein Medical College, what the curriculum, assignments and responsibilities were for med students during each year back in late 1978-1982.

Dr. Kuperman stated that he remembered Kathy Durst, the defendant's first wife, how attractive she was, that she was bright and a "sharp dresser" and that in four years he had two conversations with her. He testified the total time he had spoken to her in those four years was about 15 minutes.

Kathy disappeared February 1, 1982, months away from graduating. Dr. Kuperman stated that based on her school records, he saw no reason that she wouldn't have graduated. Dr. Kuperman also testified that he had never spoken to her on the phone before he received a phone call from a female voice on February 1, 1982 who identified themselves as Kathy Durst. Today, Dr. Kuperman cannot be certain that the voice he heard on the phone was Kathy Durst.

On Wednesday, Susan Giordano, a close personal friend of the defendant, testified that Durst was her best friend. She said she loved Durst and that their relationship was strictly platonic. She also testified that she did not give police permission to remove over 60 boxes of Durst's personal effects that were stored in her basement.

On Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday, the prosecution's "secret witness" Nathan "Nick" Chavin took the stand. He testified that he met the defendant, a long-time close friend over 30 years ago through their mutual friend, victim Susan Berman.

Chavin testified that in December 2014, he had dinner with the defendant. After the dinner when they were walking away from the restaurant, Chavin and Durst had a talk about the murder of Susan Berman. Chavin testified, "Bob said I had to. It was either her or me. I had no choice." Chavin then asked about Kathy but "... he continued to walk away."

Chavin's direct testimony continues today.

1:00 PM
Defense cross examination of Nathan Chavin by lead counsel Dick DeGuerin began around 10:40 am and continued to the lunch break. At one point, DeGuerin raided his voice and appeared to be yelling at the witness. The prosecution objected to this.

Chavin was confronted via transcripts with conflicting statements he made in his various interviews with the prosecution team, about what he said the defendant told him regarding Berman's murder at their dinner meeting in 2014.

Right before the lunch break was called, DeGuerin informed the court that when they resume, they will be playing the entire 60 minute audio of a July 24, 2015 interview Chavin had with prosecutors.

It's doubtful at this point this hearing will be concluded today. On Thursday we learned that Judge Windham has a trial that is scheduled to start on Tuesday. Monday, President's Day is a court holiday.



Correction, DeGuerin states the recording is from July 23, 2015.More to come.....

This entry was first published on February 24, 2016. Republished on the anniversary of Sherri's death. Sherri was murdered 31 years ago today. Sprocket.
GUEST ENTRY by AUTHOR MATTHEW McGOUGH!

The website for the California Courts, Appellate Court Case Information indicates that Cameron Brown's appeal for his first degree murder conviction in the death of his 4-year-old daughter Lauren is fully briefed. Below is a screenshot of the last actions appearing on the docket for Brown's appeal.



Cameron Brown was convicted of first degree murder in the death of his 4-year-old biological daughter, Lauren on May 13, 2015. He was sentenced to life without parole on September 18, 2015. His appeal was filed the same day. California's Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation indicates that Brown is currently being held at California's Substance Abuse Treatment Facility at Corcoran State Prison, in Corcoran, CA.

Full T&T coverage of Brown's second and third trial can be found here.

With the case fully briefed, it's now a waiting game for oral arguments to be scheduled. That could easily take a year or more. To give you an example, the Stephanie Lazarus appeal was fully briefed on December 13, 2013. Oral arguments were not scheduled until June 11, 2015, eighteen months later. The Appellate Court published their decision on July 13, 2015.

February 28, 2016
For those of you living in a cave, eccentric real estate heir Robert Durst (of The Jinx fame) was arrested in Louisiana on March 14, 2015. His arrest was initiated by a murder warrant out of Los Angeles. Durst was charged with first degree murder in the death of his long-time friend, Susan Berman. Berman was found shot in the back of the head in her Benedict Canyon home on December 24, 2000.

While in the Louisiana jail facility, the day following his arrest, Durst agreed to an interview with LA County Deputy DA John Lewin. Durst spoke with Lewin for about two hours and forty-five minutes. The interview was video and audio recorded.

The video and audio files were released to the public by the LA Co. District Attorney's office on December 16, 2016, via a motion filed with the court. That motion also includes a complete transcript of the recording.

T&T has uploaded the video to YouTube.

The video consists of two parts, a video file and an audio file. The video was made through a closed circuit camera in the interview room at the Louisiana jail. It did not contain any audio. The audio recording was a separate file, made by the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division.

T&T merged the audio and video recordings, which were slightly different lengths. Although the audio and video were in sync at the start of the recording, towards the end they are out of sync. Because of the wide viewing angle of the video, the participant's faces are not clearly visible.

Previous post on this case.

March 17, 2017
I'm on the 9th floor of Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles waiting for Dept. 106, Judge Larry Paul Fidler's courtroom to open.

Several members of Gargiulo's defense team are also in the hallway deep in conversation.

Around 8:43am, Deputy DA Daniel Akemon arrives with a rolling cart and two file boxes. I'm surprised. Could that really be two additional full boxes of discovery at this late date?

Judge Fidler's courtroom opens and we all file inside.  Judge Fidler is not on the bench yet and some counsel in the courtroom don't appear to be happy about that.

There's a beautiful bouquet of roses on the court reporter's desk. The candy jar at the clerk's desk is almost empty. For the first time, I notice a small desk bell, like you might find at a hotel desk, on the court clerk's counter. 

I have a flashback that over ten years ago, in February 2007 I first entered this courtroom for a pretrial hearing in the Phil Spector trial. The juror's chairs contain spiral notebooks, an indication that Judge Fidler is in the middle of a trial.

8:59AM
The court reporter comes out and sets up her equipment. A man, possibly an attorney, enters the courtroom. He chats with the court reporter, then goes into the back area to get tissues from the restroom.  The court clerk is at her desk. She warns an attorney not to get lost, that she is set to start at 9:15am.

In the well of the court I hear the words, "...four thousand pages of discovery turned over today..." There really is a lot of discovery being turned over today.

9:30 am
Defense counsel and the prosecution are over at the clerk's desk, having a conversation. There are other counsel in the well. There's a female Deputy DA I recognize, but I can't remember her name. Several counsel are wearing green for St. Patrick's Day. DDA Akemon has on a bright, almost neon green tie. It reminds me of his friend, former Deputy DA Alan Jackson's extensive tie collection.

9:35am
I'm surprised. Deputy DA Paul Nunez, who prosecuted Stephanie Lazarus is here in the gallery. DDA Nunez is the Assistant Head Deputy of the Hardcore Gang Division. The new beard he's sprouted looks good on him. He chats with DDA Akemon. He peppers me with questions about Matthew McGough's book on the Lazarus case. I am sworn to secrecy regarding his work. I just smile and reply, "I can't answer that. You should talk to Matt."

Gargiulo is brought out. He looks much the same as he did before. Completely bald and clean shaven.

Judge Fidler goes on the record. The parties state their appearances.

DDA Akemon informs the court that they have turned over the following pages of discovery to the defense. Pages numbered 31,537 to 35,637. He informs the court that there is still ongoing discovery and they will have an additional two boxes of material ready for the defense next week. The people continue to work on discovery.

DDA Akemon brings up California Penal Code 190.3 the aggravating and mitigating factors that jurors are allowed to consider. The people originally filed a motion to introduce testimony from a crime scene analyst. [This would have been testimony by former FBI Profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole.] In an effort to streamline the trial, the prosecution is withdrawing that motion. I'm a bit disappointed from a trial watching perspective, but understand from a 'streamline the trial' perspective.

The people also filed a proposed jury questionnaire today.

The last issue is the voluminous discovery. There are over 35,000 pages. Some pages are duplicate documents. The prosecution has agreed to come up with an alternate set of documents [I take that to mean with no duplicates] so that defense, prosecution and the court are all working off the same set of documents.

The parties agree to set the case over to June, and set the trial in the fall.

DDA Akemon tells the court that the defense has requested the murder books in three death investigations where Gargiulo was considered [at one time] a suspect but never charged. If they turn over those murder books, they contain confidential information, however, the people feel the discovery obligation "trumps" the confidentiality issues in releasing those murder books.

The court issues a protective order for the confidential information in these files that will be turned over. The prosecution estimates the case will take anywhere from eight to twelve weeks for trial.

Lead defense counsel Dale Rubin tells the court that they are trying to cut down the number of witnesses.

The court asks counsel about pre-screening jurors for that length of trial.

Counsel anticipate coming back on June 9th and setting the court clock at 0/90 on that date. The court asks the defendant, "Is that agreeable to you Mr. Gargiulo?" Gargiulo responds, "Yes, it is." The court orders, "So joined."

I don't have it in my notes, but I have a memory of the defense mentioning something to the effect of arguing some motions on that date. And that's it.

T&T Readers: I apologize for the lateness of this update. Mostly it's been due to real life responsibilities to my own health and Mr. Sprocket's. For those of you following Mr. Sprocket's recovery, he has returned to work full time with a different company.

UPDATE 9/13/17:edited for spelling, minor corrections (guilt phase to penalty phase), etc.
Previous post on this case HERE.

September 8, 2017
I’m on the train to downtown Los Angeles for a pretrial hearing in the Gargiulo case. For the June hearing, I was recovering from a lung infection and did not want to risk coughing up a storm in Judge Fidler’s court. It’s also why I’ve missed several pretrial hearings in the Robert Durst case.



When I reach the front entrance to the courthouse, I immediately notice a change. One security station was moved from the back of the building lobby to right inside the front door. So the long line to get in will back up outside the building instead of inside. There is still one security station inside the lobby on the south side entrance beside the west wall, creating a wide open lobby space.



East of the new lobby space, the District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division (JSID) used to be located in a cubby of warren like offices. They moved out of there when the DA moved into the renovated old courthouse building across the street last year. Since then, renovations had been going on in the old JSID space for sometime. Finished, this space is the new juror waiting room. I don’t know if the new space replaces the 5th and 11th floor jury rooms or is in addition to them.



In the elevator bay, I see 48 Hours producer Greg Fisher and we catch up. Apparently, this is only going to be a short hearing to set a trial date. That’s different than the clerk minute notes from the June hearing.  I got a copy of them in early July to make sure I didn’t miss anything important.



Up on the 9th floor, we run into People Magazine's Christine Peliseck. While working for LA Weekly, Christine broke the 'Grim Sleeper' story. Christine’s book on the Grim Sleeper case has been out since June. We head inside Dept. 106, Judge Fidler’s court and take a seat in the third row. 



Sitting in the second row off to our right is defense investigator Chris Nicely. His handsome young son is with him again.

I apologize to Christine that I missed her book reading at author Carolyn Murnick’s last LA book signing (explaining the long recovery Mr. Sprocket has had after his heart surgery). Murnick’s book, The Hot One, is about her murdered friend Ashley Ellerin, one of Gargiulo’s alleged victims. I met the lovely Carolyn back in 2012, not long after I started covering Gargiulo’s pretrial hearings.

While we wait, I try not to be too nosy listening to Christine and Greg discuss DDA Beth Silverman's new case. It's the murder of a well known hairdresser Fabio Sementilli. Apparently, the grand jury testimony has been sealed. Sementill's wife Monica 45, and her alleged lover Robert Louis Baker 55, have been charged with his brutal murder.



9:48 AM
Defense attorney Dan Nardoni arrives. He greets Judge Fidler’s clerk, checking in with her.  I strain to overhear the conversation going on over at the clerk’s desk. From what snatches I can hear, the prosecution is dropping the robbery charges and the trial won’t start until January.

9:52 AM
Lead defense attorney Dale Rubin arrives. He joins Nardoni in his conversation with the clerk.

It’s All About Scheduling

We hear quite a bit of what’s going on and why the case will wait until January. Apparently, Judge Fidler is backed up solid with trials. The court has a death penalty case that is going to trial October 30 and that case will go on until the end of the year. There are no dates available during that trial for pretrial hearings in this case. If that case ends in a guilty verdict, then the penalty phase will happen, pushing the trial into January.



From the clerk’s perspective there is quite a bit more work that the court reporter is responsible for on a death penalty (DP) case. There is a lot of verification that must go into a DP court transcript. It must be certified by prosecution and defense for any errors. The clerk informs the defense that she has to give her court reporter a bit of extra time before starting another DP case back to back. 

She has to have a break.

Another issue is, the clerk is adamant that she needs 30-45 days for the court to obtain the needed number of jurors and she will NOT put in the request for them until a trial date has been set. 

She's learned that lesson the hard way.

The defense and the clerk go back and forth about setting a motions date and setting a trial date. The clerk is firm about giving her court reporter the time she needs as well as not willing to put in a request for jurors early, before a set trial date. Back and for the negotiations go.

I miss writing in my notes exactly when DDA Dan Akemon and DDA Garrett Dameron arrive. There’s also a new sheriff’s detective in the gallery. I believe I've met him before but I've forgotten his name. From my understanding Detective Mark Lillienfield has retired. He may have joined the DA’s office but it’s not clear if he’s still there. If my fading memory is right, this detective is Lillienfield’s former partner. DDA’s Dameron and Akemon join the defense at the clerks desk to try to workout the trial schedule.



After the Gargiulo case, the clerk states there are three trials stacked up after them. The defense has a “lot of motions” that need to be argued. They will need a full day(s?) for that and they still have responses and additional motions to file. The clerk asks, “Why did you wait so long to schedule motions?” I want to raise my hand and say, "I'm wondering the same thing!" From all the positive things I’ve heard about Mr. Rubin, purposefully dragging out a case is not something he does.

It's my personal bet (with no inside information) that arguing all the motions filed so far and those yet to come will take at least two days

 if not more. I just can't see how they will be done with everything in one day.

The 995 (defense motion to dismiss) has not been argued. Usually that motion is a formality motion by the defense soon after the preliminary hearing is finished. The prelim was held in 2010. Gargiulo went pro per in 2012 and before the 995 motion was filed. Over two years later, Gargiulo (who never filed a 995 motion) gave up his pro per status and former defense attorney Charles Lindner was re-appointed. I believe Lindner filed his 995 motion late in 2015. Right after that the court removed him from the case. Then it took time for the 987.95 court to appoint new counsel and approve their presented budget.

The people have filed a motion to present the events of the Perkin's Operation at the El Monte, California jail.  They still have to argue at least one 1101(b) motion -uncharged prior bad acts- to see if the prosecution can present the DNA evidence in the Illinois 1993 Tricia Pacaccio murder. Back when the case was in Dept. 108, it was speculated that it could take up to 90 days to get that evidence from Illinois, have it tested by the prosecution and defense and presented for trial.

I’m gathering from the conversation that Dale Rubin is retiring and the Gargiulo case will be his last case. He doesn’t want to be here in court over the summer.



The trial date is set at zero-of-60 on January 12, 2018. That means the trial will be held within 60 days of that date. That gives the clerk her 30-45 days she needs to get the needed jurors. Motions will be argued almost a month later on Feb 2nd.

It appears that is satisfactory to everyone so all that’s left is the formality of putting the case over on the record.



10:17 AM

The bailiff brings Gargiulo out. He is still completely balled and clean shaven, the only hair on his face are his eyebrows. He’s in an orange jumpsuit with the white long-john shirt on underneath. He’s wearing the black horn-rimmed glasses. Rubin and Nardoni lean in to speak to him.

10:20 AM
Judge Fidler takes the bench. The sheriff’s detective leaves. The case goes on the record. The court states the defendant is present. The people filed an amended complaint [dropping the burglary charges] and waive the reading. Gargiulo is still charged with two murders, one attempted murder and one attempted escape [during the Perkin’s Operation].

February 2nd is set for motions all day. All motions (and responses?) are to be filed by January 12. Trial date is set for January 12, zero-of-60. The court asks Gargiulo if he agrees and that’s it. Quick hearing.



On the elevator ride down I got a chance to catch up with DDA’s Dameron and Akemon who I had no seen since March. I let them know about Mr. Sprocket’s recovery and his latest challenge. In July, he completely tore is long head biceps tendon. Hopefully when I have time, I’ll try to update everyone on how he’s doing.


UPDATE 7:30 PM - See below
October 18, 2017
Today, the California Courts of Appeal affirmed the conviction of Cameron Brown on first degree murder charges in the death of his 4-year-old child, Lauren Sarene Key.

Prosecutors argued and the jury agreed that Brown premeditatedly threw his daughter off of a 120ft cliff, Inspiration Point in November 2000 because he did not want to pay child support.

The court docket on the case states the justices "affirmed with modifications." Here is Brown's CA Courts of Appeal docket listing:

Interestingly, if you read the docket, on July 27, 2017, Brown waived the oral argument hearing and the state agreed four days later.

As soon as I am able to get a copy of the published decision, I will post it.

UPDATE:
Below is a screenshot of page two of the Appellate Court ruling. The full 94 page document can be found HERE.

This is an update of a post from 2009. Sprocket


Seventeen years ago today, in the early afternoon of November 8th, four-year-old Lauren Sarene Key ended up dead at the bottom of Inspiration Point, a 120-foot sheer cliff face in Ranch Palos Verdes. That day, Lauren was on a court-ordered visitation with her biological father, Cameron Brown, who drove her to the Abalone Cove parking lot where they set out on an approximate one-mile hike. The hike was along trails that hugged a steep, ocean cliff. They traveled down to the beach tide pools, back up the cliff to the main road, then out to the tip of Inspiration Point.

To this day, only two people know what really happened to cause Lauren to lose her life in such a dangerous place. Her father, Cameron Brown and Lauren.

Much later that night back at the Sheriff's station, Brown was interviewed by LA Co. Sheriff's Homicide detectives for approximately three hours. According to Detective Jeffery Leslie, Brown gave three slightly different versions as to what happened to Lauren on the southeast section of Inspiration Point. That single interview would be the one and only time Brown cooperated with authorities investigating the death of his daughter.

Brown was arrested on first degree murder charges in 2003. Because of the special circumstances of lying-in-wait and murder for financial gain bail was denied. Brown remained in the custody of LA Co. Sheriff's. Brown's first two trials ended in hung juries. All jurors from both trials agreed that Brown was guilt of something, however, they couldn't decide on what charge.

In November 2013, Huffington Post wrote:

Nov. 16 is Cameron Brown's 10th anniversary in jail, even though he’s never been convicted of a crime.

Brown's third trial started on March 18, 2015 with juror pre-screening.Opening statements started a week later on March 25th.

On May 13, 2015 the jurors reached a unanimous verdict. Brown was convicted of first degree murder. They also found true the special circumstances of lying in wait and murder for financial gain. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole on September 18, 2015. Brown is currently serving his sentence at the CDCR's California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in in Corcoran, California.


Recently, the California Courts of Appeal upheld the lower court's decision on Brown's conviction. Seventeen years later, this case has finally been put to rest for Lauren's family.

Personal Stories
City: Los Angeles, CA
Basin: San Fernando Valley


I took the above photo about 30 minutes ago by stepping onto my street in front of my house and pointing my camera at the western sky. It's filled with smoke. The winds have taken hold of the smoke and the smell has invaded through the tiny cracks of my home.

I then pointed my camera at the eastern horizon. It's more of the same.


The Creek Fire started around 4:00 am near Sylmar, CA, which is about 25 miles from my home. Sylmar is in the northeastern edge of the San Fernando Valley, and butts up against the Angeles National Forest. This story from local ABC7 gives some information on this fire.

A little ways up the I-5 below Santa Clarita the Rye Fire broke out this morning. Santa Clarita is in Los Angeles county and about 40 miles from where I live. This Los Angeles Times story gives a quick update on this fire.

The Thomas Fire sprung up overnight in Ventura County, which is 50 miles to the west of where I live. Over 150 structures in that county have been destroyed. Thousands of people have evacuated the city of Ventura and surrounding areas. This Washington Post story will give you the latest on what Southern Californians are facing.

Previous post on this case HERE.

January 12, 2018
PART I

In court this morning, Michael Gargiulo amended his guilty plea to add not guilty by reason of insanity. This means that at the end of the guilt phase, there will be a trial to determine if Gargiulo was sane or insane at the time he is alleged to have committed two murders and one attempted murder. It is my understanding that the victim's families had been notified of Gargiulo's intention to amend his not guilty plea.

Once I get home, I will have a detailed report as to what happened in court this morning, who was there in the gallery and what this all will mean.

Next court hearing is scheduled for February 2, 2018.

Part II continued HERE.

Previous post on this case HERE.


UPDATE:edited to correct gallery to well of the court
January 12, 2018
PART II

I arrive on the 9th floor of the Clara Shortridge-Foltz Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles about 8:50 am. I head directly into Judge Larry Paul Fidler's courtroom, Dept. 106.

In the well of the court, Judge Fidler's clerk Wendy is at her desk. The court reporter is also at her desk in front of the bench. I don't know the court reporter's name, but she is someone I've seen in various courtrooms over the years.

DDA Daniel Akemon and DDA Garrett Dameron are standing in the well having a conversation beside the prosecution's table. The defense team (Dale Rubin and Daniel Nardoni) are in the custody area with the defendant.

In the back row of the gallery near the door is defense criminal investigator Chris Nicely. Chris looks just as handsome as the last time I saw him. We exchange greetings.

Also in the back row of the gallery is CBS 48 Hours Producer Greg Fisher. Right beside him is a pretty petite woman. Fisher informs me that Gargiulo is going to amend his plea to add not guilty by reason of insanity. This is a shocking development. This move could potentially derail the trial from being the next case up on Fidler's calendar.

At the last pretrial hearing, it was understood by both parties that as of today, the trial date was set at zero to sixty. Additionally, all motions and responses were to be filed by today and argued on February 2. The trial would then be scheduled soon after. All of that is now potentially out the window.

The woman beside Greg introduces herself. She is Tori Edgar from NBC Dateline.

At some point, People Magazine reporter Christine Pelisek arrives and she gets introduced to Tori. Apparently, both Tori and Greg have been covering a case in Riverside County for their respective networks.

9:10 AM
Dale Rubin comes out from the custody area. He immediately goes over to speak to DDA Akemon. Afterwards, Nicely gets up from his seat and goes up to the well gate to speak to Rubin.  DDA Akemon exits the courtroom for a moment and then comes back in.

9:12 AM
Daniel Nardoni comes out from the custody area.  Gargiulo is brought out less than a minute later. He is much the same as I last saw him. He is wearing the usual orange jumpsuit with the white long-johns type shirt underneath. His head is completely bald. His face is clean shaven save for a mustache and eyebrows. Understand, Gargiulo looks nothing like his booking photos, which are almost 10 years old now. He looks a bit leaner in the face.

Nardoni and Rubin both lean in to chat with Gargiulo.

9:15 AM
Judge Fidler takes the bench and they go on the record.

The defendant wishes to amend his plea. He is adding not guilty by reason of insanity. The court has to appoint two psychiatrists. The plea amendment is not for whether Gargiulo is competent to stand trial.

Judge Filder states that 1027 requires the appointment of psychiatrists. The defense tells the court that they already have two doctors appointed that have been examining their client for the past year. At first, this shocks me because I wonder if the defense has been planing this all along. But in reflection of past death penalty cases I've covered, it's not necessarily surprising. Defense counsel can use psychiatrists for mitigation in the penalty phase. Not positive, but I believe the defense can call the doctors to present mitigation evidence.

I believe it's DDA Akemon (but it could have been Rubin) names the doctors Gargiulo has seen for the court, but I totally miss getting their names. I believe it's Rubin that states one doctor's report has already been given to the DA or that one will be given today. He will get all the doctor's reports to the DA.

The case will be held over to February 2nd, and the case calendar set at zero of sixty as of that date. By that time, the DA will have viewed the doctor's reports and they can have the court appoint doctor's for the prosecution.  Rubin informs the court that February 2 was reserved for arguing motions. They would like to take that off the table for that date. 

The DA's office has already informed the victim's families and is now informing the court that the families may wish to appear on February 2nd to address the court under Marcy's Law. (It is unknown at this time if any of the family members will show up and make statements to the court.)

The DA is ready to take the plea now. Because of the type of plea, what follows is a series of questions that the DA is required to ask the defendant as well as some questions to his counsel. These questions are very specific. They ask questions such as,

Have you notified you client of the additional consequences of the additional plea?

The new plea means there could be a two step trial in this case. If Gargiulo is convicted on any of the charges, a second trial will take place to determine if he was legally sane (at the time of the murders). Only if Gargiulo is found guilty will there be this second trial.

The DA asks Gargiulo question after question after question to make sure he understands what will happen with this additional plea and the consequences. Conversations he previously had with his psychiatrists under his prior plea were privileged. With this new plea, the DA's office now gets to see all the session notes from those visits and any reports the doctor's have written.

DDA Akemon: "Do you understand all your constitutional rights?"
Gargiulo: "Yes."

If there is a sanity phase trial after the guilt phase, the DA's office doesn't have to prove anything. The defense must convince (a jury) at that trial Gargiulo was insane at the time he committed his crimes. If Gargiulo is found not guilty by reason of insanity, he could be committed to a psychiatric facility for at least 180 days or longer.

DDA Akemon tells the defendant, "If found not guilty (by reason of insanity) you could spend more time in a state hospital than required by law."  Gargiulo's responses to all of DDA Akemon's questions are that he understands.  DDA Akemon asks, "Do you have any questions ... that I've asked you about today?" Gargiulo responds, "No."

DDA Akemon continues to read questions to Gargiulo from his script. There are questions for defense counsel. I believe the defense counsel states they don't have anything further to add. Defense waives the reading of the arraignment.

Judge Fidler addresses Gargiulo. He asks him if he understands that if he is found sane, he would then face a penalty trial where he could face the death penalty.

DDA Akemon tells the court there have been two psychiatrists, possibly three that have been appointed to Gargiulo in the past, previously under 1369.

Gargiulo must now waive his privilege in regards to those prior doctor visits. DDA Akemon lists them for the court: Dr. Budding, Dr. Vianne Castellanos and Dr. Robert Freundlich. Under 730 and 1017, previously those visits were protected.

Either the court or DDA Akemon asks Gargiulo, "Do you understand that those statements are no longer protected? ... Do you waive (your rights) under the fifth amendment, in regards to those exams?" Gargiulo answers, "Yes." Judge Filder rules, "The court finds the waivers have been given."

And that's it. There's nothing else. The deputies start to take Gargiulo back into custody but the court calls out to the deputies to bring him back. They are still on the record.

DDA Akemon tells the court they did file an informal request for discovery reports. The defense tells the court that both doctor reports will be provided to the people.

And that's it. Next hearing February 2nd.

Here's what happens now. Every time Gargiulo spoke to a psychiatrist while he has been in custody since July 2008, the people get to see that doctor's notes and any report that was produced.

Let's say hypothetically, during one of those interviews, Gargiulo admits to that doctor that he committed the crimes he's charged with. The people do not get to use any of that information during the guilt phase of the trial, unless, Gargiulo's defense team uses it as part of their defense during the guilt phase. At that point, the people could then use the information, put on a rebuttal case and call their own witnesses.

It also becomes complicated if, hypothetically, Gargiulo rescinds his not guilty by reason of insanity plea. The law may differ as to what happens, depending at what point Gargiulo rescinds this plea. Like I said, all that is hypothetical at this point.

GUEST ENTRY by DAVID in TENNESSEE!


 Former Knox County Judge Richard Baumgartner, 70, died on January 23. He presided over the trials of the defendants in the Christian-Newsom torture-murders covered here at T&T. Those defendants were: Letalvis Cobbins, Lemaricus Davidson, George Thomas and Vanessa Coleman.


In 2011, Baumgartner came under a criminal probe for obtaining drugs from a probationer in his drug court and was disbarred. Baumgartner was convicted of five counts of misprision of a felony. He served a brief time in prison a year later. This caused two of the four defendants (Thomas & Coleman) to be retried.

Baumgartner led the push to allow cameras in Tennessee courtrooms, his own in particular. He lobbied within the Knox County Superior Court for the Christian-Newsom case. Ironically, this led to his downfall. Baumgartner visited a woman named Deena Castleman when she was in the hospital during the trial of the crime's ringleader, at a time when everybody in Knox County with a computer was watching the live-streaming trial. People at the hospital recognized him.

Knoxville News-Sentinel reporter Jamie Satterfield wrote an excellent account in 2012 of how Baumgartner was able to stay on the Judicial bench titled "Court of Secrecy: How Richard Baumgartner stayed on the bench despite warning signs". The article has been published again.

by David in Tennessee

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Catching Up With The Sprocket Household
Wednesday afternoon I felt as if a weight had been lifted. I had been working a good part of the day going through every 2017 invoice and calculating my sewing business sales taxes. With a deadline of 3:00 pm, I managed to get them filed online with 9 minutes to spare. An hour later, I got my notice of the District Attorney's calendar for February 1.

Lately, I haven't even bothered to open the District Attorney's daily calendar. Most of my time the past year was helping Mr. Sprocket recover his health. First was a difficult recovery from his double bypass heart surgery. He returned to subcontracting in April, unsure that he could work a demanding 8 hour day for an employer.

By the time he felt strong enough to put himself on the job market, he suffered a work related injury.  While using some large pipe wrenches on a big motor for a commercial HVAC system, he completely severed his long-head biceps tendon in his right arm. It was touch and go there for a couple months whether he would be able to heal without surgery. Fortunately, this tendon only does about 15 to 20% of the biceps lifting work. Unless you are very young and a professional athlete, the standard treatment for this injury is rest and time to recover.

Luckily, by late October his residual pain was minimal and he felt strong enough to put himself on the job market. He landed a job pretty quickly. It's a perfect fit for him at this point in his life. The position is strictly commercial high-rise buildings HVAC service; no refrigeration work. That means no middle of the night call outs to service a restaurant walk-in freezer. Although Mr. Sprocket is the newest service tech in a mostly installation company, he's the one with the most knowledge and service experience.

Overall, Mr. Sprocket's health has improved. With the extended supplement regimen he has been on, Mr. Sprocket feels his health is the best it's been in several years. He tells me daily he feels like a new person.

Potential New Cases
I wasn't really planning on going into downtown LA on Thursday since there is a Gargiulo hearing on Friday. However, once I got the sales taxes paid and the DA's calendar for the next day showed up, I thought I would take a look. I just wanted to see if there was anything interesting. There were several cases downtown that piqued my interest. Suge Knight was on the calendar for two courtrooms. A week ago, I was talking about the Knight case with my writing partner Katie. I haven't really followed the Knight case so I didn't know if that was a typo on the calendar or if he really did have two cases trailing each other in different courtrooms. The last news article I read said the murder trial was scheduled for January 8, 2018, but here it was February and the case was still in pretrial hearings. 

Also on the calendar was a listing for "continuing defense testimony" in Judge Fidler's courtroom. I was surprised. I thought the death penalty case that started in late October was supposed to be finished in early January, making way for the Gargiulo case. But again, here it is February and the defense is still putting on testimony. It is a cold case murder and alleged MS-13 gang affiliation. There are four defendants.


There was a preliminary hearing in Dept. 41, Judge Villar, that piqued my interest because of the Deputy District Attorney assigned. It's John McKinney with the DA's Major Crimes Division. I had heard good things about DDA McKinney but had never met him or followed one of his cases. This might be a good time to drop in and see what his case was about.

Best Laid Plans
I didn't sleep well Wednesday night. I did wake up in plenty of time to get to court, but I felt so out of sorts I debated with myself for almost an hour on whether to go or not. I got a late start out the door and didn't make it into downtown LA until after 9:00 am. I arrived on the 9th floor around 9:15 am.

Suge Knight, Dept. 101 Judge Coen
Full disclosure. I know very little about the case other than Knight has gone through a slew of attorneys. He is charged with murder, attempted murder in one case (TA136401 ) and charged with robbery in another (SA089020). Those cases are in Dept. 101. Knight is also charged with making criminal threats (BA452832). That case is in Dept. 120, Judge Richman.

When I arrive in Dept. 101, there are few people in the gallery. I make sure the Sheriff's Deputy sitting right by the door sees my press badge as I quietly enter. I know there probably are victim family members in the gallery because I see a familiar face from the DA's victim support staff sitting with them. I take a seat in the gallery beside another reporter with a camera man. Siting at the far end of the long benches I recognize Associated Press reporter Brian Melley. Anytime Melley covers a case you can expect an excellent story. Here is his write-up on the hearing today.

By the tone I'm hearing from the bench, it appears Judge Coen has lost his patience with one of the attorneys at the counsel tables. I'm not sure who. Judge Coen is a formidable presence on the bench. (I was briefly in his courtroom back in 2013, when I wrote about Coen's famous file boxes.) At this point, I don't know who any of the defense counsel are. In the well along with other DA staff I see Asst. Head Deputy of Major Crimes, Craig Hum. It appears it's DDA Cynthia Barnes, who impatiently tosses back a piece of paper handed to her by the defense. After a bit of back and forth, the next pretrial hearing date is set at February 14. I hear from other reporters that a trial date has already been set for April 19. And that's it. People start to file out. I get the chance to say hello to DDA Hum in the hallway. He is kind enough to tell me that Knight's other case is in Dept. 120, on the 13th floor.

Suge Knight, Dept. 120 Judge Richman
The reporter in the gallery of Dept. 101 that I didn't recognize was LA Times reporter James Queally, who has written several pieces on the Knight case already. Queally remembers me, and I apologized to him that I didn't recognize him.

Judge Richman is on the bench. There are a bunch of people in the gallery. There is a DDA at the people's table. It's clear he is hearing pretrial hearings in other cases. DDA Barnes is in the well along with two other DDA's that were in Dept. 101. There is a small child, no more than 18 months or 2 years, sitting alone at the end of the third bench row.  I take a seat in this row a little ways to the left of the child. After awhile, a slender black man comes and sits beside the child. He's either the dad or the guardian.

Judge Richman calls a different case than Knight's. The defendant is the man with the very young child. He leaves the child on the bench alone in the gallery and takes a seat at the defense table. Judge Richman mentions the case is a residential burglary. There's a prior fire arms conviction. I miss the next several statements in the well because the young child is making noises while he's sitting alone. There are several women sitting behind the detectives on the other side of the aisle. They are trying to shush the noisy child. Judge Richman appears to be finished with this defendant when he asks the man, "I'll ask you the most important question. Eagles or Patriots?" The man tells the court "Eagles."

With this case over, Judge Richman banters with DDA Barnes in the well. In reference to one of the DDA's with her, he asks, "Why is he here? He look comfortable." The court asks for the parties in the Knight case. It isn't until after the hearing I learn that the DDA on this case is not Barnes but DDA Stefan Mrakich. I find that the older black attorney sitting in the well is Thaddeus Culpepper. The black female attorney sitting beside Knight at the defense table is Dominique Banos. Ms. Banos is an attractive black woman. She's wearing a very form fitting suit over her ample bosom. The white female attorney, Rena Wallenius, is there representing Ms. Banos. Mr. Culpepper sits in the gallery for a short time before taking a seat in the well behind Banos.

Judge Richman tells Banos, "I think I read your declaration." The court tells the press photographer he is welcome to remain. DDA Barnes tells the court that they just set the cases in Dept. 101 for February 14, calendar zero of 60 for pretrial. She tells the court the murder trial has been set for April 9, 10 for jury trial. The robbery case is also set for February 14, calendar at zero of 60. Judge Richman sets Knight's case in his courtroom for the same date at zero of 30. DDA Barnes suggests the court sets the calendar in Dept. 120 the same as Dept. 101 (zero of 60 as of 2/14).

Judge Richman responds. He appears to be giving DDA Barnes a bit of friendly banter. "Judge Coen doesn't report to anybody. Judge Coen is a grade five. I'm just a grade three. I have to report to people." Judge Richman sets Knight's case at zero of 30 for February 14 and orders the defendant back at 8:30 am. The setting of the case calendar is all that DDA Barnes is here for. She then hands the presentation over to DDA Mrakish who presents to the court their conflict of interest allegation regarding Ms. Banos. The court comments that there are lawyers for the lawyers here. DDA Mrakish tells the court that he doesn't have a lawyer here.

Ms. Wallenius interjects on the conflict of interest allegation by the people by telling the court, "I am not a potted plant! The people have not filed a motion [regarding the conflict of interest] ... or on the perjury matter."

DDA Mrakish outlines for the court that sometime prior, Knight's phone privileges at the jail were restricted. He was only allowed to call his attorney. There were no 3-wall calls allowed. Mrakish tells the court [I believe] about a phone call between Ms. Banos, Knight and someone with a production company. Knight used the booking number belonging to another inmate to make the call, after the phone restrictions were put in place. DDA Mrakish states there is a potential conflict of interest between Ms. Banos and Knight. He is here to get a waiver from the defendant.

While this is going on, Knight has spun around in his chair. For a while there, Knight was spinning his chair a bit from side to side. Now he's turned it completely around, facing away from the judge and is speaking to a deputy sheriff standing behind him. Judge Richman stops the proceedings to ask if Knight is paying attention to what is going on. Knight spins back around and faces the court.

DDA Mrakish tells the court the production company may be paying Ms. Banos's fee. It creates a specter of conflict. Mr. Knight  has a "... right to have conflict free counsel" DDA Mrakish argues. Judge Richman tells the parties, "I'm just a small piece of a tail on a really big dog here." The court addresses the defendant. "Do you want Ms. Banos to continue to represent you?" Knight adamantly tells the court, "I'm not making a waiver." The court patiently continues to address the defendant. "Assume what the DA says is true. Do you want Ms. Banos to continue to represent you?" Knight replies, "Yes."

Judge Richman states that they are done here. There is no signed waiver, just a verbal waiver from the defendant. There's only one other question the court asks Knight. "Patriots or Eagles?" Knight makes his choice. There are a few more off the cuff comments from the court, something about Judge Ryan. Then Judge Richman addresses the defendant again. "Do you know the song, Drowning on Dry Land?" Knight replies, "Yeah." If I recall correctly, the court tells the defendant the song reminds him of Knight. There are a few more statements by the court that I miss.

Ms. Wallenius interjects and addresses the court. "What she [DDA Barnes?] did in the last courtroom is reprehensible! ... The people are suggesting Ms. Banos has broken  the law! ... I'm asking the court to make a finding she has not broken the law." Ms. Wallenius continues to argue with the court. The court responds, "You're bordering on contempt." Ms. Wallenius appears to back down from that and tells the court that the DA has made an allegation. The court responds, "I've not made any finding nor have I assumed anything." Judge Richman has had enough and that's it for the Knight hearing. Out in the hallway I get the names and correct spelling for all the counsel in this hearing.

Dept. 106, Judge Fidler
I head back down to the 9th floor to see if the trial in Judge Fidler's courtroom has resumed. Peeking through the window in the door, I see there's no one in the courtroom. I then head to the 3rd floor for Dept. 41.

Dept. 41, Judge M. L. Villar - Artyom Gasparyan preliminary hearing
I quietly enter Dept. 41. I make sure the bailiff sees my press pass. The courtroom gallery is almost completely empty except, I see Terri Keith from City News. Terri is one of my favorite reporters. She has a tough job and she does it quite well. Terri gives me a smile and scoots over so I can take a seat beside her. I note that Judge M. L. Villar is a woman.

Summary: Artyom Gasparyan is charged with 32 counts stemming from a crime spree that began August 5, 2015 and ended with the defendant being shot and apprehended on January 4, 2016. Gasparyan is charged with murder, several counts of attempted murder, robbery, and other crimes. This appeared to be a one man crime bonanza. A total of eight victims were shot, one fatal.

The parties are at the tail end of the preliminary hearing where the court is making their ruling. I've missed the closing arguments for both sides. For the moment, all I see is the back of the defendant. He hair is jet black, past his shoulders. Although the defendant is in a wheelchair beside his attorney, I can see from his body movements that he isn't paralyzed. He's able to move his lower body quite well.  DDA John McKinney is at the prosecution table. He is a tall, handsome black man. By the end of the prelim, the DA's office amended their original complaint, removing two charges and adding three. The court is detailing the evidence that was presented by the people. There were 133 exhibits presented in the course of the prelim and numerous witnesses. Judge Villar mentions GeoTime® mapping is a game changer. Not only place, but routes, times and place. It's illustrative to the court but not persuasive to the court. The court continues with the other evidence admitted that connects the defendant to the charged crimes. The court states, "Nine millimeter casings at crime scenes; multiple witnesses identified the defendant and vehicle." Judge Villar adds that the GeoTime® mapping [indicates the defendant?] to have been at these locations. "The forensic evidence, more than sufficient that ... [the defendant] will be held to answer."

That's it. Judge Villar rules that sufficient evidence was presented for the defendant be bound over for trial. There will be a hearing in Dept. 100 (Master Calendar Court) in two weeks. That's probably for assignment to a courtroom. When the defendant is wheeled out, I can see that his right arm is wrapped and in a sling. I can't remember if it was before or after Judge Villar adjourned the hearing when she specifically addressed the detective(s) by name and complimented them on their work.

Outside in the hallway, Terri Keith asked DDA McKinney several questions about the case and I listen in. The defendant's vehicle was equipped with a stand alone Garmond GPS. In was mounted on the dash. The crime spree occurred in neighborhoods all over Los Angeles County. Los Felitz, Glendale, West Hollywood, Burbank, Harbor, Mission, Woodland Hills, Wilshire, and Carson were some of the locations of the crimes. The murder victim occurred in the inner city and the motive isn't clear. He encountered the defendant for a short period, just seconds. It's possible that the victim was in the defendant's way. From December 29th, 2015 to January 1, 2016, the defendant had a co-conspirator (Daniel Ramirez? spelling?). Once together, they stayed together in the vehicle. The co-conspirator killed two people and then shot himself.

I asked DDA McKinney how long he's been with the Major Crimes Division. He tells me since 2011. After the chat with DDA McKinney, I head back up to the 9th floor.

Dept. 106, Judge Fidler - Alleged MS-13 gang murder case; 4 defendants, 2 juries
When I step into Dept. 106, the gallery is empty. The only person in the well is Judge Fidler's clerk, Wendy. The case that started in late October has gone long. The DDA on the case is Dayan Mathai. DDA Mathai is also leading the big insurance fraud case against Kelly Soo Park and a slew of other defendants, also pending in Dept. 106. Lonce LaMon at adjuster.com has been posting detailed reports on the insurance fraud case pretrial hearings.

For the murder case, the parties are still in the case-in-chief. No penalty phase has started yet. There are four defendants and two juries. The victim is Jacqueline Piazza, 13, who was raped and murdered in June 2001. One jury is hearing the case against Jorge Palacios, 39. The other jury is hearing the case against Santos Grimaldi, 35, Melvin Sandoval, 38, and Rogelio Contreras, 40. Grimaldi and Sandoval are facing the death penalty. If either one is found guilty, there will be a trial to determine penalty.

Wendy tells me they are in the defense case for one of the defendants. The parties and court are hopeful to start closing arguments on February 20. There will be separate closings for the defendants.

I ask Wendy about the Michael Gargiulo case. She tells me the parties passed on being the next case up on Judge Fidler's calendar. After so many courtrooms in one day, I head back home.

Previous hearing on the Gargiulo case can be found HERE.

Next hearing on the Gargiulo case can be found HERE.

Previous post on this case can be found HERE.


UPDATE:edited for clarity
February 2, 2018
I arrive in downtown LA around 8am. That's plenty of time to get on the 9th floor before 8:30am, when Dept. 106, Judge Fidler's court opens.

For those who don't know, the civic center area of downtown Los Angeles has several hills, some steep and some not so steep. My walk from the church parking to the court on Temple Street is an easy block and a half and downhill. The Clara Shortridge-Foltz criminal court building takes up the entire block on Temple between Broadway and N. Spring Street. As I cross Broadway, Temple takes a sharper dip to the front entrance of the court. Unfortunately, as I get closer to the door, I see that the security station at the front entrance is closed, just like it was yesterday.


I have two choices. Continue downhill on Temple to the corner of N. Spring, turn right and take a tall, almost two story set of stairs to the upper balcony and back entrance. Or, I can walk back up the incline to Broadway, turn left and go slightly downhill on Broadway towards the level access walkway at the back of the building. I reverse course, deciding to take the incline verses the stairs.

When I realized the front entrance was closed, a woman stopped me on the sidewalk and asked which way to go to get into the court building. I told her to follow me. She asked me if I was going to jury duty. I told her "No." She immediately turned around to go East on Temple to N. Spring. "Mam!" I called after her, "This way is easier into the building." She then turned back around and rushed passed me up Temple.

As I'm walking west on Temple, CBS 48 Hours producer Greg Fisher is coming towards me and asked where I was going. I explain to him the front entrance is closed and we have to go to the back entrance. Greg is half a foot taller than me, in much better shape and with much longer legs. I'm not moving fast enough for him. My bag is heavy with my laptop and I struggle to keep up.

As we reach the door, the woman whom I just directed is in front of me at the security scanner. But she's standing there, not moving at all, acting like she doesn't know what to do. The security station is much like those found in airports. It consists of a walk through scanner for people, and an x-ray type device where you put your belongings on the table with the moving belt. Your personal items then move through the device so the security personnel can see through your belongings to make sure you're not bringing anything into a court building that's illegal. It's not like security scanners were just invented yesterday. They've been around for a long time.

Full disclosure. I admit that I get impatient with people at the security stations who don't know how to put their belongings on the moving belt. They are often confused about the security officer's instructions to take everything out of their pockets and put them in the round trays before they walk through the scanner. Impatient at the court scanners? Guilty as charged. I do need to work on having more patience. The rest of the morning, Greg doesn't let me forget that I went past the woman in front of me.

When we reach the 9th floor, the CBS 48 Hours camera crew is already there waiting for the security station to open. History lesson. This is the only security station on a courtroom floor. It was built before the start of the O.J. Simpson trial. Greg introduces me to the CBS camera crew. Apparently, Judge Fidler approved filming today's hearing. 48 Hours wants to get video of any family members who make statements to the court under Marsy's Law. 

A few minutes later defense investigator Chris Nicely arrives. He's wearing a really nice blue suit. Chris is quite tall and very easy on the eyes. While we wait, it's clear the sheriff's deputies are having difficulty turning the scanner machine on. One of the camera guys points out to the deputies that there appears to be a plug that's unplugged under the machine.  The cord gets plugged in and the sheriffs test the scanner. I had put myself in front of the camera equipment so I could get to the ladies restroom quickly. Greg, who likes to razz me, doesn't let me forget that either.

When I exit the restroom, the 9th floor hallway is mostly empty except for a group gathered in the center. It's CBS 48 Hours host Maureen Maher standing with the two cameramen I met at the security station. With her is another 48 Hours producer Doug Longhini. I walk toward the group and wait for a moment to introduce myself.  Maureen beats me to it and introduces herself first. Maureen is petite and just as pretty in person as she is on camera. She's wearing a sleeveless A-line black dress with a matching jacket. The cameramen are miking her up for interviews later.

Retired LAPD Hollywood Homicide Detective Tom Small and his wife Laurie (sp?) are also with the group. Detective Small investigated victim Ashley Ellerin's murder. His wife Laurie is a court reporter in Dept. 109, Judge Kennedy's court. Detective Small is in a complicated brace that is holding his right arm in a fixed position out from his body. With all that Mr. Sprocket has gone through, I'm guessing it's a good bet Detective Small had surgery to repair an injury on his right shoulder. I'm asked if I know Detective Small. I know him from several court appearances in this case and one other. I remember being in the elevator with him well over a year ago when he announced to a companion that he was retiring from the LAPD that day. After a few minutes I step away to sit down on a bench seat near Dept. 106 and jot down some notes.

8:30 AM
A bailiff opens Dept. 106 and Greg gets their approved filming order into the court. Across the hall from Dept. 106, Judge Lomeli's court clerk opens his courtroom, Dept 107. He stands with the door open for a minute, watching the group in the center of the hall. It looks like defense attorney Daniel Nardoni has arrived and joins the center hallway group. Other people headed for other courtrooms stop by to say hello to Maureen and the group.

Inside Dept. 106
When the courtroom opens, the camera crew gets right to work setting up their equipment in the jury box. Wendy, Judge Fidler's court clerk is telling the cameramen which podium to get in the back corner and where to place it in the well.

Like I noted in my post yesterday, Judge Fidler is in the middle of a death penalty trial with two separate juries. I can see the second jury's notebooks on the benches in the first and second rows of the gallery. There is a sign on the third bench row, not to sit there. This is to have some space between these jurors and members of the public. Since there are no jurors here today, I ask Wendy if it's okay to sit in the third row. She says that's fine today. A trick I learned from the late Dominick Dunne, I always try to sit directly in line with the witness box, or in this case, as close to the podium where the victims family members will stand. The camera crew quickly gets to work setting up wireless microphones at the bench, counsel tables and the podium.

Maureen enters the courtroom with Detective Small. Small takes a seat near the bailiff sitting on a chair in the well and Maureen sits with the other CBS crew in the far last row of the gallery.  Small's wife joins him a bit later. Defense attorney Nardoni arrives in the courtroom.

8:35 AM
There are several conversations going on at once all around the gallery. Detective Small and seated the bailiff chat. Another bailiff comes out of the custody area and calls out for Gargiulo's counsel. Mr. Nardoni asks, "Is he back [there]?" The deputy answers, "Yes." Nardoni goes back to see his client in the custody area.

8:37 AM
Retired Detective Mark Lillienfeld arrives. I believe Detective Lillienfeld investigated the murder of Maria Bruno and attempted murder of Michelle Murphy. I give him a smile and he is kind enough to sit beside me and say hello. We chat about what retirement is like from a long career as a detective. The bailiff who is chatting with Detective Small gets up from his seat to come over and shake Detective Lillienfeld's hand.

DDA Garrett Dameron enters Dept. 106 and checks in with the court clerk. There is a tall slender man with him I don't recognize. Nardoni, out of the custody area, leaves the courtroom with his investigator Nicely to chat. Det. Lillienfeld leaves me and joins the group chatting with Det. Small. Greg and Maureen are chatting in the far corner of the last gallery row.

Tracy, the DA's victim support staff who works with the Major Crimes Division arrives and checks in with the bailiff. She wants to be sure which path the deputy wants the victim's family to take when they approach the podium. She then exits the courtroom.

8:48 AM
DDA Daniel Akemon arrives. He's chatting with Mr. Nardoni just outside the courtroom in the ante chamber. On Judge Fidler's bench, there are several reference books in a desktop book-holder to the right and a huge reference book directly in the center of his bench. On the wall behind the bench to the left, is a large TV screen. To the right of the bench is the clerks desk and counter area. Directly in front of the clerks walled-off counter area, there are several file boxes stacked up, three or four high. I'm guessing these files relate to the death penalty case.

A pretty petite woman from the DA's office I've seen in other cases arrives. I think she's with the DA's JSID unit (Justice System Integrity Division). There are handshakes all around with the group over by Detective Small.  I look behind me to the chairs near the door where Chris Nicely usually sits. He's concentrating on his notepad, taking notes.

I'm wondering what the hold-up is. Maybe we are waiting for lead defense attorney Dale Rubin.  Detective Lillienfeld joins Greg and Maureen in the back left corner of the gallery. There are conversations still going on in several groups around me. Nardoni and Nicely go back into the custody area to speak with Gargiulo.

New York Magazine Editor and author Carolyn Murnick arrives with a male friend. She immediately recognized me but again, I didn't recognize her at first. I'm starting to wonder if I'm developing face blindness, or it's my age. Carolyn takes a seat to my left to chat and say hello. Carolyn then reaches into her bag and signs for me a copy of her book, The Hot One, about her childhood friend and murder victim Ashley Ellerin. I'm touched. Due to my husband's health, I wasn't able to make it to her book signings in Los Angeles, so this is a nice surprise.

9:00 AM
The family of victim Tricia Pacaccio arrive along with the DA's victim support staff.  DDA Akemon is conferring with Mrs. Pacaccio and her sons. Detective Small introduces himself to the Pacaccio family. Carolyn and I scoot down to make room for Mrs. Pacaccio and her sons, Douglas and Thomas at the far left end of our row.

The court clerk asks if counsel are ready. Dale Rubin is still not here.

9:06 AM
People Magazine reporter Christine Pelisek arrives. She greets Detective Lillienfeld and takes a seat in the back row.

9:08 AM
The court clerk calls for counsel over at her counter. Wendy also asks for one of the cameramen. 48 Hours producer Doug comes over to the other cameraman in the jury box to chat. Lots of conversations going on at once. The camera was taken down. There will be no video taping today, just audio of the impact statements. (After the hearing I learn that the Pacaccio family did not wish to be filmed so the court reversed the filming order but let 48 Hours record the audio.)

The court clerk tells the bailiff. "I think we're ready now."

9:14 AM
Gargiulo is brought out. Since defense counsel Dale Rubin is not here, Gargiulo doesn't sit at the end of the table where everyone can see his face. He sits directly beside Nardoni so his back is to the gallery. When he entered, he looks exactly the same as the January hearing. He's wearing the orange jumpsuit with the white long-johns type shirt underneath. His head is completely bald except for his eyebrows and mustache. It's clear Gargiulo looks about 10 years older than his booking photo at the top of this post. His face is much leaner, thinner.

9:15 AM
Judge Fidler takes the bench. DDA Akemon tells the court they have the Picaccio family from Illinois. He introduces Tricia Pacaccio's mother, Diane (sp?). Tricia was murdered in Illinois in 1993. Her case is pending in that state. Mrs. Picaccio reads a prepared statement. One of her sons stands beside her at the podium. She speaks so fast, I get very few complete sentences of her statement. As she starts to talk about her daughter, her voice breaks and I feel her pain. The anguish in her voice at the loss of her daughter affects me. My friend Matthew McGough is always telling me I need to maintain a distant professionalism, but I still struggle with that. I've silently wiped tears many times in the gallery, listening to a family member sob during testimony or give an impact statement.

Mrs. Pacaccio thanks the court. "We ask that ... why this had to happen to our wonderful loving Tricia. .. Twenty-four years later ... hard time suffering ... cannot understand ... [We are] fundamentally different people down to our soul since this happened.  ... When someone who is indispensable to your happiness is gone ..." Mrs. Pacaccio weeps as she speaks to the court. Toward the end of her statement she's crying and my eyes start to well up.

I believe it's Douglas, Tricia's other brother who reads a letter from his father. Mr. Pacaccio was unable to travel due to health issues. "I am here to represent my daughter's rights and the right for a speedy trial. The defendant needs to be brought to trial in the murder of Tricia. ... If you give one thought ... [we?] who have been waiting 25 years. ... We are very angry, disgusted and surprised ... the delays and extensions."

Douglas speaks fast and I'm having trouble keeping up. "Please do not delay this case any longer. ... Know that we will have another long case, once it gets to Chicago, Illinois."

Judge Fidler addresses the victim's family. "I do hear you. I've been doing this for 35 years. ... I have to be general. I can't speak to prior delays, because I don't know what happened."

Judge Fidler then speaks to them hypothetically, as to what happens after a California case that receives a death penalty verdict. It is first reviewed by the California Supreme Court. After California, it goes to the Federal system. "If they [California Supreme Court] affirm, then 12-15 years, it goes to the Federal side. ... Then habeas corpus." Judge Fidler says something about the Federal system [here in the west] taking a dim view of the death penalty, so California death penalty cases lose.

Judge Fidler goes onto explain that they can't have any mistakes in a death penalty case. When he tries a case, he tries to make no mistakes.  "We had a new plea. That will delay [the case] as a matter of law. ... I promise both sides that I will move this case as expeditiously ... and still follow the law. ... Because of the new plea, there are going to be delays. ... I will keep you in mind. You're not nameless to me. ... You didn't come out here [for nothing]. "

DDA Akemon addresses the court. They have picked a name from the court's approved list for a doctor to evaluate Gargiulo for the people. Dr. Robert Schug. DDA Akmon states, "He is ready to start his evaluation almost immediately. ... He is asking for face to face meetings and an ability to bring a laptop [into the jail]."

Judge Fidler rules, "If you give me an order I will sign it." 

DDA Akemon tells the court they have the next pretrial date in mind, April 20, 2018. By that time, they may have a good status on where they are.  Judge Fidler sets the case calendar at zero of 90 on April 20th. Defense attorney Nardoni tells the court they have given discovery to the DA. Their hope is to start the case this summer.

And that's it. Judge Fidler is off the bench and Gargiulo is taken back into the custody area. Out in the hallway I learn that lead defense attorney Dale Rubin is under the weather, so that's why he wasn't in court today.

I was really hoping that 48 Hours was going to get images of Gargiulo today. I have been unable to find any photos taken of Gargiulo beyond his various booking photos. It doesn't appear that Gargiulo has been photographed during any court proceeding since he was arrested in 2008.

This entry was first published on February 24, 2016. Republished last year on her death anniversary and today on her birthday. Sherri would have been 61 today. Sprocket.

GUEST ENTRY by AUTHOR MATTHEW McGOUGH!

Previous post can be found HERE.


April 20, 2018
The Gargiulo hearing that wasn't lasted about 30 court seconds today.

Although a hearing was scheduled for today, somehow, the wrong date that Gargiulo was to be returned to court was entered into the computer system. Gargiulo wasn't brought to court by the LA Co. Sheriff's. Both parties agreed to trail the case until next Thursday, April 26. Next hearing will be on that date.

It should be noted that a new trial date has not been scheduled on Judge Fidler's calendar.

This page was last updated 04/28/18 at 11:30am PT. Sprocket 
Main Quick Links Page can be found HERE.

BAKER & SEMENTILLI CASE DOCKET
Baker LASD Booking #5016213
Sementilli LASD Booking #5016191

NOTE:I have received copies of the case docket for Baker & Sementilli from their arrest under LA086223 and continuing with the superceding indictment BA452975. I have copies of  Baker's docket under BA452975. Next trip to court, I will get Sementilli's. Rather than publish the docket pages, I have put the docket information into a readable format. Sprocket

SUMMARY of Clerk Docket for LA086223 & from 06/16/17 to 08/18/17
Case #LA086223 [I have copies of Baker & Sementilli's docket. I have combined the information in the two dockets into one stream. Sprocket]

06/16/17 Van Nuys Dept. 100. Complaint Filed LA086223. Case called for arraignment; DA Brenda Christine Lee. Baker represented by Max A. Fantozzi, Public Defender (PD). Sementilli represented by Leonard Levine, private counsel. Arraignment and plea for both continued to 06/29/17.

06/28/17 Van Nuys Dept. 100. Media Request Granted.

06/29/17 Van Nuys Dept. 100. DA Beth Silverman. Sementilli represented by Jill M. Janotta, private counsel. Baker is represented by Max A. Fantozzi, PD. Both defendants waive arraignment, reading of complaint and statement of constitutional and statutory rights. Both defendants plead not guilty to count 01, 187(a). Court orders pre-plea report; both defendant's counsel do not consent to a pre-plea interview. Orders defendants to next court date, preliminary hearing setting for 08/07/2017, Dept. 120.

08/07/17 Van Nuys. Matter is called in Dept. 112 for Dept. 120. Amended complaint is filed adding Count 02, PC 182(a)(1). DA Beth Silverman. Baker represented by Robert Kayne, PD. Sementilli represented by Leonard Levine, private counsel. Both defendants waive arraignment, reading of complaint, & statement of constitutional and statutory rights. Both defendants plead not guilty to Count 02 182(a)(1). Baker's counsel files motion to continue. Sementilli's counsel does not waive 60 calendar days for arraignment. Next court date is 08/14/17 for prelim setting/resetting in Dept 120, Van Nuys.

08/09/17 Baker's notice of motion and motion to continue filed.

08/11/17 Defendant's continued opposition to motion to continue on behalf of co-defendant Robert Baker filed.

08/14/17 Van Nuys Dept. 120. Case called for prelim setting/resetting. DA Tannaz Mokayef standing in for Beth Silverman. Baker represented by Robert Kayne, PD. Sementilli represented by Leonard Levine, private counsel. Media request filed. Order on media request signed and filed.
Next scheduled event, 08/17/17.

08/17/17 Van Nuys Dept. 120. Case called for prelim setting/resetting. DA Beth Silverman. Baker represented by Robert Kayne, PD. Sementilli represented by Leonard Levine, private counsel. Over [both] defendants objection, camera will be allowed for today's proceedings.
Baker's docket states next pretrial hearing 09/28/17. Sementilli's docket states next pretrial hearing 08/28/17.

Case #BA452975 [NOTE: I have a copy of Baker's docket. I will get Sementilli's docket on next trip into downtown LA. Sprocket]

08/18/17 Central District Dept 100. Case called for initial filing. DA Beth Silverman. Defendant (Baker) is not present in court and not represented by counsel. Valerie Aenlle-Rocha DDA is present as Grand Jury Advisor.

At 11:45 AM, the Grand Jury returns into court with 18 members present. The foreperson presents the following indictment to the court and states that fourteen or more grand jurors were present and concurred in the return of the indictment. The court finds the indictment to be true bill.

Arrest warrant in the amount of "no bail" is ordered issued and held until date and time indicated below. On people's motion, the arraignment is set on calendar for date and time indicated below. The DA states this is a superceding indictment of case number LA086223. The prosecutor is directed to give notice to defense counsel of the arraignment date and time. Next scheduled event 08/25/17.

08/25/17 Central District Dept 100. Case called for arraignment. DA Beth Silverman. Defendant in court and represented by Robert Kayne, PD. John Neiderman, Grand Jury Advisor appears from the DA's office. On people's motion, the indictment is unsealed. A copy of the indictment is given to defense counsel. People request the defendant be arraigned. At request of co-defendant, arraignment and plea is continued to 8/30/17 in this department. Defendant waives time for trial plus 60 days. Later: Matter is recalled at the request of the people. People renew request for arraignment and no change is made in the courts order. At request of defense, date of 8/30/17 is vacated and the matter is continued to 8/31/17 in this department for arraignment and plea.

08/31/17 In Central District 100. DA Beth Silverman. Baker represented by Robert Kayne, PD. Defendant is arraigned. Defendant pleads not guilty to count 01 187(a). Defendant pleads not guilty to count 02 182(a)(1). Court orders defendant to appear on next court date. Court addresses media requests. Over the defense objection, court permits camera coverage, but the defendant may not be filmed. People state the decision for penalty is still pending. Defendant is arraigned, pleads not guilty and denies all allegations. Matter is set for pretrial conference and trial setting on November 2, 2017. Co-defendant has filed a motion to seal the grand jury transcripts. Motion is set for September 7, 2017.

09/07/17 In Central District 100. DA Beth Silverman. Public Defender Robert Kayne is present. Mr. Kayne, declares a conflict. Alternate Public Defender, by Rick Sternfeld, is appointed. Motion to seal Grand Jury transcripts filed 08/31/17. Case continued to 11/02/17. Media request has been filed. Court denies said motion.

10/31/17 People's response to motion to seal grand jury transcripts is received and filed this date.

11/02/17 In Central District 100. DA Beth Silverman. Defendant is present in court and represented by Brock Hammond, Alternate Public Defender. Second Alternate Public Defender Michael Simmrin. People state the penalty decision is still pending.

Defendant Sementilli will be requesting the pre trial date of December 12, 2017 and orally notices 995 and discover motions for said date.

Motion to unseal the grand jury transcripts is pending. Defendant Baker requests the motion be continued. Defendant Sementilli has filed a 1050 penal code motion for this motion.

Pre trial conference and motion to unseal the Grand Jury transcripts are continued to December 12, 2017.

Defendant Baker voices concerns over location of holding cells while in the courthouse. The court states this is a Sheriff's Department issue, and suggests counsel discuss it with the Sheriff's Department.

12/04/17 Confidential motion under seal is filed and order for face to face visitation is signed and filed under seal.

12/12/17 In Central District 100. DA Tannaz Mokayeff.  Defendant is present in court and represented by Brock Hammond Alternate Public Defender.  Penalty decision still pending. DA Tanazz Mokayeff is specially appearing on behalf of the people. Beth Silverman is not present.

Defense's motion for release two laptop computers belonging to Gessica and Isabella Sementilli is heard and granted. The order is signed and filed this date.

The pretrial conference/trial setting is continued within the time period for January 4, 2018, in Dept. 100 as day 23 of 90. Court orders the defendant to appear on the next court date.

01/03/18 At 3:00 pm Notice of motion to set aside the indictment is received, filed and given to the court to review. Matter prev set/remain on calender.

01/04/18 In Central District 100. DA Beth Silverman. Defendant is present in court and represented by Michael Simmrin, Alternate Public Defender. Hearing on the media request is heard and argued. The defense state their objection to the media request. The people have no objection to the media request. Defense objection is sustained. Media coverage is not allowed this date.

The people of the State of California are no longer seeking the death penalty as punishment for the above named defendant. [Baker.]

Waiver and agreement form is not filed. Defense counsel is ordered to file said document on or before next court date.  Notice that the death penalty is no longer being sought is signed, filed and forward to the appropriate parties this date.

Matter is continued in Dept. 100 for pretrial conference/trial setting on 02/08/18.

01/04/18 at 2:00pm. Booking #5016213 / Penalty decision still pending.

********** Without Legal File ***********
Motion for appointment of expert under evidence code 730 and 952 is filed this date. Order for appointing expert under evidence code 730 and 952 and appointment order professional appointee court expense are signed and filed this date.

01/22/18 at 4pm. Booking #5016213 / L.W.O.P. Media request for proceedings of 02/08/18 is filed. Counsel are notified as follows:

Tanazz Mokayeff, DDA
Beth Silverman, DDA
Michael Simmrin, DAPD
Leonard Levine, Pvt Counsel
Blair Berk, Pvt Counsel

02/05/18 at 4pm. Booking #5016213 / L.W.O.P.
DDA: Beth Silverman & Melissa Opper. People's response to motion to set aside the indictment is filed.

02/08/18 In Central District 100. DA Beth Silverman. Defendant is present in court and represented by Michael Simmrin, Alternate Public Defender. Matter is called for opposition to media request; motion to set aside the indictment; request to seal the motion to set aside the indictment; and response to motion to set aside the indictment.

All motions are continued to Feb. 27, 2018, in this department. Next scheduled event 02/27/18 995 PC motion.

02/27/18 In Central District 100. Case called for 995 motion. DA Beth Silverman. Defendant is present in court, and represented by Michael Simmrin, Alternate Public Defender. The matter is called for motion pursuant to PC section 995. After argument from counsel, the court denies the motion as to counts 01 and 02.

The case is ordered transferred to Department 103 forthwith for all further proceedings, so ordered by the judge supervising the master calendar.

The defense having filed a declaration pursuant to Civil Code of Procedure section 170.6 as to the honerable Curtis Rappe, the case is ordered to re-assigned to Department 101, the honorable Ronald Coen, Judge presiding.

02/2718 In Central District Dept. 101. Case called for pretrial conference. DA Beth Silverman. Defendant is present in court, and represented by Michael Simmrin, Alternate Public Defender.  DDA Beth Silverman / Melissa Opper present.

Peremptory challenge having been filed as to the honorable Curtis Rappe, the matter has been transferred to Department 101, the Honorable Ronald Coen for all further purposes.

Media request to permit coverage denied.

As more fully reflected in the notes of the official court reporter, the court discloses to all parties that Deputy District Attorney Melissa Opper was a former extern for Judge Ronald Coen and that Judge Coen attended the wedding of Melissa Opper.

Good cause having been shown, on stipulation of all parties the court orders the pretrial conference continued to the date of March 27, 2018 in Dept. 101.

03/27/18 Central District Dept. 101. DA Beth Silverman. Defendant is present in court, and represented by Michael Simmrin, Alternate Public Defender.

The court has read and considered defense counsel's motion for appointment of expert.

The motion is granted and the order appointing Suzanna Ryan of Ryan Forensic DNA Consulting is signed and filed this date.

Court and counsel confer regarding co-defendant Monica Sementilli's outstanding discovery request.

The people address co-defendant Monica Sementilli's motion to seal Grand Jury Transcript filed on August 31, 2017.

Good cause shown and there being no opposition by the people on defendant's joint motion, hearing on the motion re sealing of the grand jury transcript and outstanding discovery issues is ordered set for the date of April 19, 2018 in Dept. 101.

04/11/18 at 8:00am. In camera hearing set on the non-appearance calendar for date and time indicated below: 04/12/18.

04/12/18 Case called for in camera hearing. DA Beth Silverman. Defendant is not present in court and not represented by counsel. DDA: Beth Silverman/Melissa Opper. DDA Melissa Opper not present this date. In camera hearing held. Reporter's transcript sealed. Further proceedings remain set for April 19, 2018 in Dept. 101.

04/19/18 Case called for pretrial and motion. DA Beth Silverman. Defendant is present in court, and represented by Michael Simmrin, Alternate Public Defender. Deputy DA Melissa Opper is present in court.

Defense counsel joins in the motion to seal Grand Jury transcript, and motion to compel discovery.

Defense written motion to seal the Grand Jury transcript is heard, argued and denied.  The court orders the Grand Jury transcript unsealed. The court orders the defense reply be unsealed. The court's rulings are more fully reflected in the notes of the official court reporter.

Defense written motion to compel discovery is heard and argued. The court orders the search warrant unsealed. Court orders portions of the search warrant redacted as more fully reflected in the notes of the official court reporter.

The people concede at "6" of defense motion, and will perform phone extraction.

The people have received sealed records from "Sunlife" Insurance and will keep possession of the records, copy them for defense and return the originals to the court.

Defense stipulate to the chain of custody. Matter is continued to May 9, 2018 in Dept. 101.

This page was last updated on 04/1718 at 10am PT. Sprocket
ROBERT LOUIS BAKER & MONICA SEMENTILLI QUICK LINKS

CASE #BA452975
Murder of Fabio Sementilli, 49, on 1/23/2017

MAJOR PLAYERS
JUDGE: Ronald Coen, Dept. 101, as of 02/27/18
DEFENDANT: Robert Louis Baker dob 5/2/1962 (01) (5016213 LASD booking#)
DEFENDANT: Monica Sementilli  dob 01/10/72 (02) (5016191 LASD booking#)
DEPUTY DA Beth Silverman
DEPUTY DA Melissa Opper
DEFENSE BAKER: Michael Semmrin, Alternate Public Defender
DEFENSE SEMENTILLI: Leonard Levine& Blair Berk

SHORT, CASE SUMMARY
People's complaint alleges Sementilli and her lover, Baker, were having an affair for over a year before her husband's death. Prosecution alleges Sementilli conspired with Baker to murder her husband, Fabio Sementilli for financial gain (special circumstance); 1.6 million insurance policy on Fabio's life. People also allege the special circumstance of lying in wait. Fabio was stabbed to death in his home January 23, 2017. Baker and an unknown co-conspirator were seen on surveillance video approaching the Sementilli residence on foot.

NOTE: Full case docket (clerk minute notes) from 06/16/17 to 04/19/18 can be found HERE.

T&T PRETRIAL COVERAGE
04/19/2018 Monica Sementilli & Robert Louis Baker, Pretrial 1

DOCUMENTS
08/18/2017 Indictment 
08/31/2017 Defense Motion To Seal Grand Jury Transcript
08/31/2017 People's Response Motion To Seal Grand Jury Transcript
02/05/2018 Defense Opposition To Media Request To Broadcast Court Proceedings
04/10/2018 Defense Reply to Opposition Motion to Seal Grand Jury Transcript

NEWS ARTICLES
06/16/2017 LA Times -Wife of slain hairdresser charged with capital murder along with her boyfriend
08/07/2017 Daily News -Conspiracy charged added against wife and alleged lover
03/02/2018 Toronto Sun -Black Widow, boyfriend allegedly plotted Toronto stylist's murder
03/02/2018 Crime Watch Daily -Video
03/10/2018 CBS 48 Hours Episode 
Monder Criminal Law Group - case analysis

Social Media & Media Links
Modern Salon.com posthumus bio
Instagram
Picsbu Instagram viewer
Fabio Twitter
Fabio Facebook (Last post 1/22/2017, the day before his murder)
Fabio LinkedIn
Hairbrained Archive - Sementilli page
Fabio Obituary

Relatives & Friends of Victim(mentioned in CBS 48 Hours episode)

Mirella Rota Sementilli, sister of deceased
Luigi Sementilli, son
Isabella Sementilli, (daughter, 16; found father)
Gessica Sementilli (daughter, age unknown)
Maria Sementilli (mother of victim)
Davide Verre (stepfather of victim?)
Lorendana Picillo (sister of victim)
Joe Mercurio, Fabio friend
Kristin Woolever, Fabio colleague
Pete Castellanos, Fabio colleague

Elyse Bleuel, friend of Monica