Grand jury scores DA on Freitas
case
A scathing grand jury report released Wednesday excoriates the San Luis Obispo District Attorney's Office for its handling of the vehicular manslaughter case of Kenneth Freitas, son of a county official.
The grand jury, devoting 16 pages of its report to discussing its findings on the District Attorney's Office's shortcomings in handling the matter, found that filing deputy Lee Cogan "did not act to perform his duty to file or reject this case."
Freitas, 33, is charged in the September 2002 traffic death of Sarah Scruggs, 17, of Grover Beach. (See related story, page 14.) The grand jury termed their investigation of the district attorney's conduct "a top priority."
Cogan inexplicably held the Grover Beach Police Department report and other investigative information on the case on his desk for six months without taking action.
Also coming under fire from the grand jury was the decision by District Attorney Gerald Shea to turn the case over to the state attorney general, citing a potential conflict of interest.
Cogan and Freitas' father, San Luis Obispo County Tax Collector and Treasurer Frank Freitas, served on a pension board together.
But members of the panel wrote that they "found nothing to indicate to us that a conflict of interest existed with the DA handling the case," and said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Brown "accepted the perception of a conflict of interest and referred the case to the Attorney General."
The Attorney General said then that the case "did not meet the usual parameters of conflict, but would take it as a courtesy."
Cogan's castigation derived from his lack of action in keeping the Freitas case moving though the usual channels. The grand jury noted that when it interviewed Cogan on the issue, he had "no acceptable explanation for his inaction." Cogan has since been reassigned to other duties.
Cogan testified to the grand jury that he "could not find a violation of the vehicle code" despite his having filed "serious criminal charges against the same driver in 1999 which resulted in a conviction," according to the grand jury report. Freitas had multiple driving infractions and two road rage convictions before being involved in the fatal 2002 incident.
The grand jury said its "initial observation" was that Cogan should be sanctioned, but softened that stance by suggesting that management personnel in the district attorney's office "knew or should have known" about the case's pending status.
Shea has since made changes in institutional controls for tracking progress of felony and misdemeanor cases.
Scam hits local real estate office
Thieves stole credit cards from a San Luis Obispo real estate firm and ran up about $10,000 in what appears to be an ongoing, statewide scam.
The firm's owner, who asked that his and his company's name not be used for fear of future cons, said the grifter's strategy is remarkably simple:
A group of three men or women enter an office and inquire about local listings. After they sit down with an agent, one of the group members receives a cell phone call and stands up to take it. While the agent is tied up with the other two, the lone individual walks through the office "talking" on the phone.
But the person is actually looking for open purses on other agent's desks. And by the time the group is finished talking about local property, wallets or purses are missing. One variation involves a group member asking the agent to make photocopies and then stealing valuables from the agent's desk.
After the thieves hit the local firm, they visited several retail stores where they spent about $10,000 in two hours.
Lisa Smith, executive vice president of the San Luis Obispo Association of Realtors, said the scam has been going on for several months and seems to focus on the Highway 101 corridor. She's heard of firms as close as Santa Maria and as far as San Diego getting hit.
The owner of the local company said he'd heard about the scam as well but described his employees as "very trusting people." Now he knows better and has several suggestions for other agents.
First, he said, make sure valuables are not out in the open. Next, utilize conference rooms to keep people away from agent's desks.
"If you don't know the people," he said, "I would not have them around [your] personal desk."
According the San Luis Obispo Police Department, the investigation into the crime is still ongoing.
Man on bicycle killed in Paso
A Paso Robles woman with a string of arrests was intoxicated when her automobile struck and killed a 48-year-old bicycle rider June 21, according to prosecutors who have filed criminal charges against her.
Regina Bennett, 34, apparently lost control of her vehicle on Creston Road near Neal Spring Road southeast of Paso Robles, and collided with Scott Snider, who was riding with his 18-year-old son. Snider's son, who witnessed the crash, was not injured.
According to investigators, the 7:30 p.m. incident occurred on a sweeping curve. Bennett overcorrected and ran off the road.
Her vehicle rolled over and she was ejected while her own 18-year-old son, Charles, remain trapped inside. She escaped with moderate injuries, but Charles remains hospitalized with major injuries.
According to court records, Bennett was arrested 10 times in a 10-year period starting in 1993 and was charged with a variety of crimes including child abduction, child endangerment, driving without a license, conspiracy, possession of drug paraphernalia, and being under the influence of a narcotic.
Couch in again as Atascadero chief
Lt. John Couch has been named acting chief of the Atascadero Police Department - again.
Couch takes over the duties of Dennis Hegwood, on paid administrative leave since April 19.
Hegwood, chief of the department since 1998, was accused by an Atascadero woman of raping her while she was incapacitated by alcohol. Couch took over briefly until the district attorney eventually decided not to press criminal charges.
At that time, Hegwood decided to return to his job. But City Manager Wade McKinney put him on leave a few days later. Until Couch's reappointment, the department had been without a chief.
Hegwood can retire July 1 with increased pension benefits. Although he has talked generally about retirement, he has not yet revealed his plan.
McKinney said recently he wasn't sure what he would do about Hegwood's situation.
Correction
A news brief in the June 17-24 issue, "Santa Lucia taps new school chief," incorrectly identified Lucia Mar Unified School District as the "Santa Lucia" Unified School District. New Times regrets the error. ³
News is compiled by News Editor Daniel Blackburn and Staff Writer Abraham Hyatt.
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