Judge denies bid to dismiss manslaughter case against former San Leandro police officer, chides ‘grandstanding’ by prosecutor

OAKLAND An Alameda County judge on Friday refused to toss the manslaughter episode against former San Leandro police officer Jason Fletcher finding no evidence that former prosecutors tainted the event by allegedly hiding evidence from defense attorneys Judge Thomas Reardon s ruling clears the way for Fletcher to face trial in late January in the death of Steven Taylor who was fatally shot inside a San Leandro Walmart If it proceeds to trial it would mark first time a police officer faces a jury over an on-duty killing in Alameda County since BART Officer Johannes Mehserle was tried and convicted in the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant more than years ago Mehserle was unveiled guilty of involuntary manslaughter in July by a Los Angeles County jury after the matter was moved down there At Fletcher s hearing Friday in Oakland Judge Reardon expressed frustration with one of Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson s top lieutenants when the veteran prosecutor repeatedly refused to directly answer the judge Over and over the judge advised Assistant District Attorney Casey Bates to say whether he supported or opposed Fletcher s motion to dismiss the episode for outrageous ruling body misconduct Every single time Bates refused to offer a simple yes or no Instead Bates who leads Jones Dickson s Residents Integrity Division expressed alarm at his predecessor s actions saying they were in fact outrageous More than two hours into the hearing Reardon appeared to lose his patience You keep wanting to make speeches about your outrage reported Reardon a former Alameda County prosecutor Frankly it s grandstanding To what end I m not sure But you won t answer the court s question so I think I ve heard enough from you After the hearing Taylor s family and their supporters hugged and gave each other high-fives in the hallway outside the courtroom His grandmother Addie Kitchen expressed relief Let the jury make a decision Kitchen commented What we saw the day is the DA did not do his job The judge did the DA s job and that is unacceptable Kitchen strongly criticized Jones Dickson s office for allowing Fletcher s attorney to take over I have no confidence in DA Bates He did not fight for us she explained The hearing provided yet another twist to a affair full of them including the removal and subsequent reinstatement this year of the Alameda County District Attorney s Office as the prosecuting agency Those orders largely centered around complaints by Fletcher s attorneys that District Attorney Pamela Price who county voters ousted from office last year was biased against the former officer More in recent days Fletcher s attorneys who represented Mehserle in opened a new line of attack that sought the episode s outright dismissal In a flurry of court filings attorney Michael Rains claimed that former Alameda County prosecutor Zachary Linowitz acted unethical by never alerting them about communications he had with multiple police use-of-force experts that may have doubted prosecutors chances at trial Linowitz allegedly stated one expert that you are my last hope I ve run it by several experts Rains announced Their affair was repeatedly buttressed by Bates own monthslong research into Linowitz a former lead prosecutor of the Inhabitants Accountability Unit that Price started in At one prior hearing Bates appeared so concerned about the former prosecutor s actions that he suggested Linowitz and others tied to him could be criminally liable for their conduct Linowitz has vehemently denied the statements previously telling this news organization that they were false On Friday he and two other former prosecutors previously tied to the episode James Conger and Kwixuan Maloof declined to testify citing their th Amendment rights against self-incrimination A fourth former prosecutor Alexis Feigen Fasteau did not show up to court Friday despite being subpoenaed to attend Bates mentioned Judge Reardon identified that one alleged act of misconduct never happened as claimed because an expert did not appear to cast doubt on the DA s matter until after Linowitz left the office in early In another instance Linowitz s communications with a likely expert appeared too preliminary to necessitate a formal notice to Fletcher s attorneys the judge discovered Reardon also appeared to acknowledge the complicated path that prosecutors face in winning a conviction at trial He referenced another ruling on the situation in when fellow Alameda County Judge C Don Clay reported that if this is just it right now in front of a jury there s no way in the world that prosecutors would prevail Still Reardon mentioned he wished the situation to go before a jury It may not be the world s greatest event I get it I ve seen stronger cases from their standpoint Reardon noted He added of prosecutors I get the sense they know they have a arduous affair And they may just have to try it Jakob Rodgers is a senior urgent news reporter Call text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at - - or email him at jrodgers bayareanewsgroup com