Tuesday, May 30, 2006

“HUNG JURY” FOR ANTI-MINUTEMAN PROTESTER

An Orange County jury deadlocks on three charges;
issues “not guilty” verdict for two others.

By DUANE J. ROBERTS
duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com

SANTA ANA, CA – A mixed race, predominantly female
jury deadlocked 10-2 and 9-3 in favor of an
anti-Minuteman protester who was violently arrested by
Garden Grove police on the night of Wednesday, May 25,
2005.

Kurt Isobe, 19, of Laguna Niguel, was one of three
hundred people who attended a protest against
Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist, who was
speaking at a meeting of the California Coalition for
Immigration Reform in Garden Grove.

During three days of testimony, two police officers
accused Isobe of throwing two objects at police during
the demonstration. They claimed they saw him throw a
“golf ball sized” object and a “red soda can” toward a
police skirmish line.

But a crime lab technician testified that no
fingerprints could be found on any cans. And numerous
witnesses, including some who accompanied Isobe to the
demonstration, stated that they didn’t witness him
throw any objects at the police.

The jury "hung" on three charges of felony assault
against a police officer and obstructing an officer in
the performance of his duties. They found him “not
guilty” of lesser charges of assaulting a horse and
wearing a mask in the commission of a crime.

A hearing will be scheduled later next month to
determine if the Orange County District Attorney’s
Office will retry the case against Isobe. Attorney
David Haas, Isobe’s counsel, was unavailable for
comment at the time this report was written

###