Judge Named in Penn Case; Jury Selection to Be Monday

The trial of Sagon Penn, accused of killing one police officer and injuring another, is scheduled to begin Monday with the questioning of potential jurors before Superior Court Judge Earl H. Maas Jr., who was assigned Wednesday to hear the case.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys say they will call at least 50 witnesses to testify at the trial, which is expected to last two months.

Penn is charged with murdering Officer Thomas E. Riggs, 27, and attempting to murder Officer Donovan Jacobs, 28. He is also charged with attempting to kill Sara Pina-Ruiz, 33, a civilian observer who accompanied Riggs on patrol March 31.

Neither side disputes that the shootings took place on a bright, sunny Sunday afternoon. But that is where the agreement stops.

Prosecutors have alleged that Jacobs stopped Penn on a routine traffic violation and the two fought on the ground before Penn wrested away Jacobs’ .38-caliber handgun and shot the officer in the neck. Penn also is charged with fatally shooting Riggs twice in the torso before walking to Riggs’ patrol car, where Pina-Ruiz sat. He allegedly said to Pina-Ruiz, “You’re a witness,” as he fired three bullets at her through a door window.

Jacobs continues to suffer pain in his arms and neck, and has slight paralysis in his left arm and left leg. Pina-Ruiz has recovered from wounds in the side, back and arm.

Penn, a 23-year-old karate expert who is being held in San Diego County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail, has maintained that he was provoked by the officers. His case has rallied some residents of Southeast San Diego who, like Penn, allege that blacks have been mistreated by police.

San Diego minority groups have held standing-room-only community meetings and fund-raisers for Penn’s defense fund that have included appearances by former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali and Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles). Nearly $10,000 has reportedly been raised to pay for Penn’s legal bills.

“I resent the support that (Penn) has gotten from some people,” said San Diego Police Chief Bill Kolender. “I feel that he’s a cop killer.”

Several witnesses have testified that Jacobs directed racial slurs toward Penn and hit him repeatedly. Later, Riggs struck Penn as Jacobs and Penn wrestled on the ground, according to those witnesses.

Penn’s attorney, Robert Slatten, contended during a weeklong preliminary hearing in May that Penn had been stopped unlawfully, was beaten by the officers, and was acting in self-defense when he grabbed Jacobs’ revolver and began firing.

But those arguments were rejected at the preliminary hearing by Judge J. Richard Haden, who called the case “truly a tragedy for all of San Diego.” Haden concluded: “The defendant undoubtedly was struck by the officers with their fists and their batons. But the (evidence) does not convince the court that the defendant was beaten. He was hit as he resisted the officers.”

At Wednesday’s hearing, security was tight outside Judge Barbara Gamer’s courtroom as dozens of Penn supporters, some wearing T-shirts showing Penn’s face, lined up to view the brief proceeding to select a judge for the trial. Penn, handcuffed and clad in jeans and a blue shirt, made a brief appearance before Gamer and stood expressionless.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Slatten challenged a recent statement by a San Diego deputy police chief that undisclosed evidence reveals that Penn is guilty. “If he has that kind of evidence, he should have shown it months ago,” Slatten said. “I’m really surprised he would make a statement like that. . . . There isn’t any evidence.”

Slatten said he considered it significant that prosecutors have not sought the death penalty for Penn, even though killing a police officer is considered a capital offense under California law. Slatten declined to comment any further, and prosecutor Michael Carpenter could not be reached for comment after Wednesday’s court hearing.

Kolender said Wednesday evening that he was unaware that prosecutors had decided against seeking the death penalty. The police chief said that, if convicted, Penn should get the death sentence and that this morning he will look into why charges of special circumstances were dropped.