Woodland Indians Forum

Shameless bump my woodland friends.

Please support and pass on the site for Marcos' I threw it up in a matter of hours so it's bare bones.

http://justiceformarcos.com

http://justiceformarcos.com/

For Immediate Release:
As per Mr. De Vall


Friday, January 25:


Ukiah,


The court room of Judge Ron Brown, was standing room
only.  The prisoners and their attendant corrections officers
filled the jury box.  Attorneys stood shoulder to shoulder
before the bar and every seat in the gallery was taken,
while others stood against the walls.


In the midst of this, sitting in the back row, hidden to
most in the room, sat Marcos surrounded by adults
awaiting sentencing, and just behind the arrested mental health
patients wearing white garb rather than the jail
orange jumpsuits.


All were chained, wrists to waist, ankles close together.


Marcos stood as his case was called.  His attorney
Katharine Elliott again challenged the deputy
District Attorney for the lack of availability of evidence.


Her points were heard but ended with the judge calling
for the Preliminary Hearing at 1:30 PM Wednesday.


Marcos' family all but filled the front row of the gallery
and followed him as he was escorted out of the court
before the crowd.


I've been a Court Appointed Supportive Advocate
for young boys since I left the Mendocino County
Board of Supervisors in 1995, and until now have
only appeared in the Juvenile Superior Court.


To see this 15 year old, chained, escorted and
now wearing a bullet proof vest under his prison
jumper leaves an impression I cannot fully describe.


His childhood has ended in the adult courts of Mendocino
County.  That privacy due any youth no longer exists.


The deputy District Attorney has raised issue before the
Court which now prohibits his mother giving him a hug.
In addition the District Attorney has requested of the
Court that his private hire attorney, now working as
an Alternate Public Defender  through the Prelim process
be released from the case (for lack of payment) and
that Marcos' defense be transferred
to the Public Defender office.


I've now been with Marcos as his CASA for almost a year.
I stay in touch with his family, visit his grandmother on the
rez, and give Marcos all possible support.


Please drop him a card or note directly.  Assistance with
his legal fund is important, but right now your card of care
and support can help him the most.  The concrete walls
of the hall, where he's been held now for almost year,
during our rainy season, are all the more tall and cold.


Following the Preliminary Hearing a trial date will be
set

You can write to Marcos at:
Marcos Escareno
% CASA of Mendocino County
P.O. Box 1434
Ukiah, California 954532



As we head toward the beginning of his trial
my biggest concern is whether or not he will
face a jury of his peers and have at least
one or two Native Americans on his jury.


If any reader wishes to contact me directly, please
do.


My e-mail is:  ndevall@mcn.org


Norman


Copyright 2008 JusticeforMarcos.com

www.justiceformarcos.com


CONFESSION TO BE CHALLENGED

The Court calendar has been set to challenge the "confession" of Marcos Escareno. On the evening of February 6, 2007, two sheriff officers interrogated the then 14 year old alone without his family present for two hours . He tried to tell them who committed the offense but eventually gave in and "admitted" to having fired the weapon that killed the victim. 

According to witnesses, Marcos was so inebriated at the time the Sherriff's officers arrived, they told him to stay on a couch and not attempt to stand-up for his own safety.

While there may not be named gangs on the rez there are plenty of drugs and violence.  Their influence is much more prevalent than most of us understand. There are persons who behave like the gangs by offering protection or "mentoring" to the young. It is this dynamic which led Marcos to take the blame?

By "confessing" did Marcos save his own life?

In the culture of gangs and drug deals, the answer is a simple: "Yes". You snitch, you die.

Marcos was repeatedly asked if he committed the crime to which he repeatedly answered "No", adding that he knew who did. Pressed for the answer of who did, Marcos had every reason to believe what he had heard and probably seen over and over again on television: "You snitch, you die".


By the second hour of the interrogation, he "admitted" to the crime. He was powder smudged for GSR (gun smoke residue) which was only found on the palm of his left hand, indicating only that he may have handled the gun at some time.   

Without question the District Attorney has a weak case. The weapon used was most likely a Ruger Mini 14 which fires a .233 cartridge. It's a rifle not a pistol.

Marcos is right handed and if he committed the crime he would have fired the rifle using his right eye and right index finger on the trigger.  Yet no GSR was found on either the back of his left  hand or his right hand, front or back.

Since it was late in the evening, the Sheriff Deputies and investigators did not GSR test his clothing.

The weapon used was a semi-automatic, and several unspent cartridges were found on the street during the investigation.

Did these mis-fire? Were they manually ejected from the weapon? Or were they dropped by the shooter?

If manually ejected, the shooter most likely would have had to hold the weapon in his right hand, reach under the stock with his left, then pushing back on the bolt, force the cartridge from the firing chamber. Or he would have to hold the forward stock in the left hand and pull the bolt back with the right. In either case, there would be plenty of GSR on both hands.

That Marcos didn't wash his hands to remove the GSR is proven by the fact that residue was found in the palm of his left hand.

We are left with the question: Did someone hand the weapon to Marcos after the shooting?

Perhaps the "Code of Silence" has done more to save his life than anything done so far by the legal system.

The trial date is set for September 8 and is expected to run for three weeks. Marcos' attorney, Katharine Elliott, is in private discussion with the prosecutors on a regular basis.

And on another note:

The District Attorney petitioned the Court to have me removed as his CASA (Court Appointed Supportive Advocate) after I filed an Amicus Curriae brief with the Court attempting to have Marcos' HIPA rights upheld. The deputy district attorney also threatened to charge me with "practicing law without a license", a matter which I forwarded on to the California Bar Association.

The Court did rule in the D.A.'s favor. The law is very clear in California: A CASA cannot be assigned to a child being charged as an adult.

On the same day the Court ruled in favor of the D.A., I filed papers with the help of the CASA office to be appointed Marcos' Guardian ad litem (GAL). My petition has been approved by the Court. With this authority I continue to have access to Marcos in the Juvenile Hall and can work more closely with his attorney.

/s/ Norman L. de Vall
Guardian ad litem to Marcos Escareno

www.justiceformarcos.com

CONFESSION ALLOWED

TRIAL DATE POSTPONED

On August 18, Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Ron Brown heard the defense motion to  throw out the “confession” extracted from Marcos Escareno on the night of the murder of Enoc Cruz on February 6, 2007.  The motion argued that the “confession” was involuntary and that Marcos did not knowingly and intelligently give up his Miranda rights in violation of the United States and California constitutions. 

In a surprise move Kit Elliott, Marcos’  defense attorney,  called  the defendant to the stand and he described his interrogation by Sheriff investigators  on that evening. Marcos  testified that while he heard the spoken Miranda Rights,  he did not know what they meant. Marcos’  mother was only several feet away during the interrogation, but outside the building. Marcos asked for her once but received no response from the investigators.

The then 14 year old was consistent in his manner with those in authority; if his request, whether to teachers, school bus drivers or investigators, received no response, he did not ask a second time.

He stated that he told the officers he knew who did it, but that he was not a snitch. The officers continued their “investigation” and again Marcos was consistent in his manner with those in authority and simply told them what they wanted to hear. It had worked in school and at home, and now it brought an end to the Sheriff Department’s investigation.

The Prosecution did not know or expect that Marcos would be called to the stand.  They tried time after time to go beyond the motion, challenging the confession itself. The Deputy District Attorney tried without success to ask questions about the actual killing. Marcos’ defense attorney objected to and parried the efforts of the prosecution, and Marcos himself stood strong and testified that he did not kill Enoc Cruz. 

By noon Tuesday it was over and Judge Brown was clearly undecided.

He stated that the Court would announce on Monday morning, August 25, if the confession could be entered at the trial.

Monday, August 25, 2008, Ukiah

The Court rendered its decision that the alleged confession will be allowed as evidence in the trial.

The trial was to begin September 15, but on September 4, Marcos’ attorney stated that she had doubt as to her client’s ability to competently assist in his own defense. Based on that statement, the jury trial has been postponed until a proper determination as to Marcos’ understanding of his situation has been made. Two new doctors have been appointed by the court, a psychiatrist and a neuro-psychologist, both very familiar with children.   

His next Adult Superior Court date is October 8, 2008.

Norman L. de Vall Guardian ad litem, appointed by the

Mendocino County Juvenile Superior Court

Jury deadlocked on competency issue.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20 … competency


We're getting there!

...just bringing this to current posts for those now looking at the case!!!!  (T-H see you e-mail)

tree hugger wrote:

Thank you!

Your are welcome!!!
It took a while, but....

http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_12905377


Judge delays ruling on Escareno competency until MondayBy TIFFANY REVELLE The Daily Journal
Updated: 07/24/2009 12:02:25 AM PDT


A teen facing 50 years to life for a murder he is accused of committing when he was 14 will wait until Monday for a ruling on his competency to stand trial.

Mendocino Superior Court Judge Ronald Brown was scheduled to decide Thursday whether Manchester resident Marcos Escareno, 17, was competent to stand trial, but said he wanted to "give some thought to this" before making a ruling. Brown continued the matter until Monday at 1:30 p.m.

Escareno was arrested in February 2007 in connection with the shooting death of Manchester resident Enoch Cruz.

Escareno is being tried as an adult, a fact with which his defense attorney, Katharine Elliott, takes issue. She argued in court that Escareno's maturity level at the time of the shooting and other mental deficiencies make it difficult for him to understand the proceedings and participate in his defense.

Elliott said Escareno had a low enough IQ to put him in the 6th percentile, and had been diagnosed in school with trauma stemming from molestation and "his social condition at home" since he was 6 years old.

"His overall statements to the doctors about what amount of time he's facing, what the jobs of everyone was, who the parties were, what the job of his attorney was, what I'm doing as his attorney -- you see complete inconsistency," Elliott told the court, adding that Escareno's understanding didn't improve over time.

Mendocino County Deputy District Attorney Brian Newman said of the seven psychologists and

psychiatrists who evaluated Escareno, three found him competent and four found him not competent. He said none of the evaluators who found Escareno not competent considered whether he was malingering, lying to manipulate the system.
Newman said Escareno told one doctor that "he thinks he will get off because no one saw him do it."

Newman continued, "He knows it's the district attorney's job to prove that he's guilty, and he understands that he plans to develop a defense that somebody else actually did the shooting ... Understanding the development of a defense for the charge is a very strong indication that he has the capability of assisting counsel to present a rational defense."

Tiffany Revelle at udjtr@pacific.net, or at 468-3253.

@#%* !!!!!

Prayers for Marcos. This case has hurt my heart from the very beginning. So many things could have been done differently; should have been done differently. How can a 14 year-old be tried as an adult? What is wrong with our society?

http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_14439243

Lawyers present Escareno sentencing arguments
By ZACK CINEK The Daily Journal
Updated: 02/20/2010 12:00:09 AM PST

Marcos Escareno, 17, was set to be sentenced Friday after he pleaded no-contest last year to charges he faced in the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Enoch Cruz on the Manchester reservation in 2007.

Arguments for how Escareno should be sentenced were heard, but a final decision was delayed because the judge had not received some documents.

Appearing in defense of Escareno were his attorney Katharine Elliott supported by Tony Serra and Omar Figueroa. Deputy District Attorney Brian Newman appeared for the District Attorney's Office.

Cruz's uncle told the court he could have traveled to Mendocino County for his nephew's wedding, not his funeral. He said he brought Cruz to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 7 years old.

"He shows no insight into what he has taken away from Enoch Cruz," Newman said. "The people's desire is that he does not present a danger to this community, another community or any community that he is in," Newman said.

Newman said Escareno showed no remorse, and he argued for no probation and a sentence of 21 years for manslaughter and using a gun.

Cruz was shot three times with a .223 caliber rifle and died at the scene, the DA's Office stated at the time of Escareno's plea.

Escareno's defense has argued that he was not competent to stand trial. A jury to determine his competency was hung 6-6 in January 2009, the DA's Office stated. Another jury found him competent last July.

Escareno's grandmother, mother, sisters, cousins and nieces were
Advertisement
present. Some were tearful after the hearing.

"He has potential," Serra said, "that is all to be destroyed if he goes to state penitentiary." Elliott stated the possibilities of sentencing Escareno to the California Youth Authority, probation and rehabilitation programs.

"I do not want to put him back in the situation that he was in," Elliott said.

Judge Ronald Brown was not able to declare what Escareno's sentence would be.

A packet of doctor's reports and letters from the community was submitted by Elliott but Brown did not have any record of receiving it. Newman said that he had received the information and was ready to proceed.

"The packet did not get to me for some reason and I have to live with it," Brown said.

Brown said he could either hear arguments now and rule later or put all proceedings to another date.

Brown is scheduled to pronounce Escareno's sentence on March 5 at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom B inside the Ukiah courthouse.

Zack Cinek can be reached at udjzc@pacific.net or 468-3521.

10 year sentence. http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20 … &tc=ar