Archive for December, 2011
Big River homicide
Dec 31st
Several people have asked if we have any information on a homicide in Big River, CA on Thursday night. We haven’t been given any official reports yet. If anyone can provide further details, please do so below.
Brannan reassigns cases to special prosecutor
Dec 30th
In response to assertions that the Quartzsite Town Attorney Martin Brannan is behind a controversial partisan website, Brannan today claimed that the ‘Quartzsite Bagger’ is not him.
Nevertheless, Brannan avoided going to court about it by reassigning several cases to a special prosecutor after the clients’ attorney Michael Frame filed a motion asking the court to remove Brannan for conflict of interest last week.
Brannan’s press release states:
“Despite reports to the contrary, the so-called Quartzsite Bagger is not the Quartzsite Town Attorney or any other elected or appointed officer of the Town of Quartzsite. The opinions expressed on http://quartzsitebagger.wordpress.com do not represent the views of any elected or appointed officer of the Town of Quartzsite. No elected or appointed officer of the Town of Quartzsite profits in any way from the sale of merchandise by Cafe Press related to the “Quartzsite Bagger” blog.
“Notwithstanding this reality, in order for the Town Attorney and other town officers to concentrate on the business of the town without the distraction this “controversy” appears to have been designed to create, the cases involving self-styled activists Ed Foster, Jennifer Jones, Michael Roth, Dana Stadler and Doug Gilford are being assigned to a special prosecutor.”
Attorney demands Brannan ‘cease and desist’
Dec 30th
An attorney representing former Quartzsite mayor Ed Foster and two others in cases with the town of Quartzsite has written a cease and desist letter to Quartzsite town manager Alex Taft.
Michael Frame’s letter says:
From information and belief, certain Town of Quartzsite employee (s) have engaged in internet defamation, cyber bullying / intimidation, racist statements, offensive sexual comments of citizens and former town employees, anti-Semitic statements and other unprofessional, unethical and conduct unbecoming public employees.
I would write the Town Attorney, Martin Brannan with my legal concerns, but I suspect Mr. Brannan is the individual you employ who is victimizing my clients. [...]
Further, I suspect Mr. Brannan is using Town of Quartzsite resources to accomplish his malevolent goals. I demand that your employees cease and desist in the aforementioned offensive conduct.
Brannan was the focus of last week’s allegations (detailed here) that he was behind some controversial websites which the allegations claim defamed Jennifer Jones, Ed Foster and others.
Fugitive arrested at McDonald’s in Havasu
Dec 30th
On Thursday, December 29, 2011 at approximately 11:28am, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation located a suspect wanted on numerous felony charges by multiple states. Officers of the Lake Havasu City Police Department, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office and members of the state gang task force (G.I.I.T.E.M.) assisted and the suspect, Danny Lee Warner Jr., was arrested without incident at 12:20pm at McDonalds, 6501 Showplace Avenue, in Lake Havasu City.
Danny Lee Warner, age 37, of Wisconsin is wanted for:
- Parole Violation, State of Wisconsin
- Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, Chippewa County, Wisconsin
- Misconduct Involving Weapons, Mohave County, Arizona
- Possession of Stolen Property, Los Angeles County, California
- Federal Warrant, (unspecified charges)
Warner is currently being held at the Lake Havasu Police Department holding facility pending an appearance before a federal magistrate today.
CBS 5 Phoenix and Suddenlink at odds over price
Dec 29th
Suddenlink customers in Arizona may not have access to KPHO (CBS 5 Phoenix) for much longer if the channel’s owner, Meredith Corporation, won’t drop its asking price.
A Suddenlink media release says that the cable company, which serves the Parker area, is trying to negotiate a new contract with Meredith Corporation, which owns KPHO, but they are at odds over the 65 percent raise Meredith is asking for. If the negotiations fall through, Suddenlink customers would no longer have access to the Phoenix CBS affiliate on channel 5.
Suddenlink describes the 65 percent raise Meredith is asking for as “not fair and not justified”, saying:
“If our customers are not getting a 65% raise, neither should Meredith and its stations. In the last two months we have completed new contracts with more than 60 other companies representing more than 100 other TV stations. They have not asked for increases on the scale that Meredith is demanding.”
Suddenlink is encouraging its customers to ask Meredith to extend its current contract with the cable provider until a new one can be signed, in order to avoid losing the channel from its lineup.
County Attorney on Roth appeal
Dec 27th
La Paz County Attorney Press Release
On December 22, 2011, the Arizona Court of Appeals overturned the convictions of Michael Roth stemming from an incident at a Quartzsite Town Council meeting, on April 13, 2010, in which Mr. Roth was arrested by Chief Jeff Gilbert of the Quartzsite Police Department.
On October 8, 2010, Mr. Roth was convicted of two counts of Disorderly Conduct by the unanimous verdict of an eight person La Paz County Superior Court jury. The jury was unable to reach a decision as to one count of Resisting Arrest and that charge was ultimately dismissed. The case at trial was prosecuted by Matthew Elias and the defense attorney was Evan Romberg.
Mr. Roth, through his appellate attorney David Goldberg, timely appealed the convictions, and the State was represented by the Office of the Arizona Attorney General on the appeal. The Court of Appeals, after reviewing the legal issues presented by both parties, ruled that there was insufficient evidence for the jury to have found Mr. Roth guilty of the charges.
The ruling made by the Court of Appeals was made fairly and impartially, and, as the ruling illustrates, reasonable minds can differ when analyzing the same law and facts. I have a great amount of respect for the Court of Appeals and the work that it does and the ruling only affirms my belief that the criminal justice system in the State of Arizona works well.
Michael Roth convictions overturned
Dec 24th
Quartzsite resident and activist Michael Roth, who was convicted in 2010 of two counts of disorderly conduct, has had his convictions overturned in appeals.
The convictions stemmed from an incident at Quartzsite Town Hall while the Council was in executive session in another room. Roth addressed the crowd with his complaints about the Council and Police Chief Jeff Gilbert. An officer who was present testified that Roth became offensive in his remarks, and Gilbert arrested him.
The appellate court found that there was insufficient evidence of disorderly conduct, finding that “the state failed to present any evidence that Roth’s conduct seriously disrupted any event, function or activity.” It continues to say that Roth’s remarks “…prompted only laughter and criticism from the audience — with the exception of one incident of angry finger-pointing.” And: “…although Roth’s remarks to the audience immediately before he was arrested may have been antagonistic and annoying, he spoke in a normal voice and stopped speaking to listen as members of the audience responded.”
The court also stated: “The finger-pointing incident that Gilbert identified as crossing the line and provoking Roth’s arrest, to any extent that Roth can be charged with it, hardly rose to the level of probable violence.”
The ruling can be found HERE.
Frame files motion to remove Brannan as prosecutor
Dec 23rd
An attorney representing several clients in Quartzsite cases has filed a 17-page motion to remove Quartzsite Town Attorney Martin Brannan as prosecutor in the cases.
Michael Frame cited the website Jennifer Jones alleges is written by Brannan where Frame says he “attacks and intimidates defendants and political enemies”.
This will force the issue of whether Brannan is the site’s author into court. Brannan says he has not done anything illegal, and the site in question made references to the First Amendment with regards to the issue.
La Paz County Attorney Sam Vederman said when asked that Brannan is subject to the Rules of Professional Conduct as enforced by the Arizona State Bar, but did not say whether he thought Brannan’s alleged actions fell afoul of those standards.
In his motion, Frame cited an “inherent and inescapable conflict of interest for Mr. Brannan.”
