Domestic Violence

Published on: July 9, 2012

Man Sentenced to Six More Months for Smiling at Judge

Boyd Twin, a resident of South Dakota, was arrested and charged for assault with a dangerous weapon. The victim of the assault was his companion, also the mother of his children. The crime took place in front of the children, all of whom were under the age of nine years old. Twin told his companion to “choose which child he should kill first.” The children later needed counseling.

Twin pled guilty to the crime of assault with a dangerous weapon. At his sentencing hearing, Judge Charles Kornmann sentenced Twin to 78 months in prison, plus three years’ supervised release. Then Twin smiled.

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Published on: June 25, 2012

Orange County Jails at the Breaking Point

by Staycie R. Sena

Just two years ago the Orange County criminal inmate population was low enough that Orange County actually closed down a few criminal jail wards. Coincidentally, the State of California decided at that same time, that its prisons were overflowing and it enacted legislation to send a good percentage of state prison criminal inmates back to the counties from which they were sentenced, to be housed by the local jails.

This would be a convenient use of public resources, except that since this “realignment” in October, 2011, Orange County jail populations have increased steadily- mostly through minor DUI and domestic violence arrests.

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Published on: June 19, 2012

Police Chief’s Wife Goes Wild!

by Staycie R. Sena

In a recent story from the Orange County Register, the wife of Oceanside police chief Frank McCoy suffered a fit of depression in 2010 that stemmed from a domestic argument between her and her 17-year old son. Outraged that Mr. McCoy took the side of the son during the dispute, wife Brinda McCoy, 49, took the law into her own hands. She grabbed a gun and initiated a fierce standoff with police officers outside their Cypress home in Orange County, at one point firing several shots in the direction of officers before coming out her front door saying, “f——– shoot me,” disobeying officer’s orders for her to show her hands. She was quickly subdued by the SWAT team and arrested.

During the criminal trial, prosecutors contend that McCoy ignored the law by waving and pointing her husband’s service semiautomatic handgun at them and firing twice. McCoy denied seeing officers, or shooting at them. On June 18, 2012, Brinda McCoy was convicted of five counts of assault on police officers. Although she walked out of the courthouse on bail and in tears, she is lucky to be alive. Pointing or firing a handgun at police officers will result in police firing back with intent to kill. Similarly, disobeying police orders to show her hands increases tension in officers already on edge, knowing she was in possession of a weapon that she had already fired twice.

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Published on: February 17, 2012

Hue Heffner’s Son Accused of Domestic Violence

by Staycie R. Sena

This week Marston Heffner, son of the Playboy founder Hue Heffner, was accused by girlfriend Claire Sinclair of domestic violence. At first calling her parents (who then called the police) the former Playmate of the year claimed that he “punched and kicked” her in their Pasadena apartment. While unofficial pictures circulating the internet show a small bruise on her shoulder presumably from the “punching and kicking” it is possible that the mark was caused by something else. Like many women in alleged incidents of domestic violence, Sinclair asserts that she does not want to see Heffner go to jail. She is, however, demanding an apology, and has obtained a temporary restraining order against him. The temporary order lasts about a week until a formal hearing occurs.

Despite his girlfriend’s request to withhold punishment,Heffner could still face charges by the state under California Penal Code 273.5 or Penal Code section 243e(1). He could face either a fine up to $6,000 dollars or five years in prison or both depending on the severity of his case. It appears that this was a first offense for Heffner and that could prove mitigating in defending his case.

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Published on: March 22, 2011

Did Singer Chris Brown Violate Probation?

by Staycie R. Sena

Things were looking up for pop singer Chris Brown. After pleading guilty to felony domestic violence charges against fellow pop singer Rihanna in June, 2009 and agreeing, among other things to complete 180 days of community service and a 52-week batterer’s treatment program or domestic violence class, Brown appeared in court recently to show proof that he had completed his program. He was also successful in getting a restraining order against him modified to allow peaceful contact with Rihanna. Brown remained, however, on 5 years of formal probation.

That may now prove problematic.

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Published on: May 7, 2010

What do I do if I’m served with a restraining order?

by Staycie R. Sena

It’s 9:45 am and your phone rings. The caller ID says that it’s your ex-girlfriend and you smile, hoping that she’s had a chance to think about it, she misses you and is calling to suggest you get together to talk about it. Instead she says “this is formal notice that I’m seeking a temporary restraining order in Orange County today at 1:30”. With that, she hangs up. You show up at court and realize that not only is she seeking a court order to prevent you from contacting her for 3 years, she’s asking for full control over the home you share together and attorneys fees.

Sheriff deputies show up at your door, confirm your identity and hand you a restraining order, telling you that you need to stay at least 300 yards away from Joe Schmoe, the jerk who works down the office hallway, who you’ve been waiting for the boss to fire. What does this mean? Can you legally even show up at work?

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Published on: March 16, 2010

To Speak or Not to Speak

by Staycie R. Sena

The Fifth Amendment is at issue this week in two high-profile cases: the marital mishap of professional golfer Tiger Woods and the surprise convictions of the American student perhaps wrongfully convicted of killing her roommate, Amanda Knox and her boyfriend. The Constitution protects each and everyone of us from false confessions or prosecutorial twisting of our words. Simply put, it grants us the right to remain silent. Tiger Woods has, of course, invoked this right. Amanda Knox, however, spent days talking with Perusian investigators without an attorney. She was deprived of sleep and told to “imagine” scenarios under which her roommate could have been killed. She did. Investigators then called those scenarios “explanations” and within days of the murder, she was publicly touted as her roommate’s killer.

The Amanda Knox trial has received so much attention because of the lack of otherwise credible evidence. Although there was a ton of forensic evidence, none of this evidence linked the girl to the crime and the defense was not allowed to bring in its own forensic evidence, showing she could not have committed the murder. The conviction of this young girl with no known motive and no criminal record led former OJ Simpson prosecutor John Kelly to declare this “the most egregious international railroading of two innocent young people I have ever seen… It’s a public lynching based on rank speculation.”

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