Judge Won’t Drop Case of Man Shot by Police

Saying there is “simply no evidence at all of any misconduct” by a county prosecutor, a Superior Court judge Wednesday dismissed a defense motion to drop charges against a man accused of assaulting a San Diego police officer.

Judge Richard Huffman said that Deputy Dist. Atty. Hugh McManus did nothing improper when he encouraged a police supervisor not to talk to a defense attorney about the mental state and past performance of a police officer who has shot three civilians in the last five years.

Assistant Public Defender Deborah Carson asked Huffman to penalize the district attorney’s office by dismissing charges against George Balboa, a San Diego man shot by Officer Stephen Williamson on March 23. Carson alleged that McManus threatened a police lieutenant by warning him that it would not be in “his best interest” to provide information about Williamson to Balboa’s defense team.

But Lt. Lee Staley testified Wednesday that he did not feel “intimidated” or “coerced” by McManus, and said he did meet with Carson and her investigator to discuss the Williamson case. Staley added that numerous other prosecutors have given him similar advice about meeting with defense attorneys.

Huffman ruled that McManus was fulfilling the role of a legal adversary when he advised against Staley talking to the defense.

“I’m not surprised to hear somebody speak harshly of the other side,” said Huffman, a former assistant district attorney. “Mr. McManus first of all did not suggest (Staley) not appear. He refused to make a recommendation. He said it was Lieutenant Staley’s choice.”

Carson said she was disappointed that Huffman did not disqualify McManus and the district attorney’s office from prosecuting her client. She said she would “probably” file an appeal with the 4th District Court of Appeal.

McManus was called to testify as a witness during Wednesday’s hearing and was represented by Deputy Dist. Atty. Tom McArdle.

“There has been absolutely no showing whatsoever that anything Mr. McManus did interfered at all with the ability of the defense to prepare for a fair trial,” McArdle told Huffman. “This is really a shutout. The defense has shown nothing.”

McManus, who occasionally shook his head and chuckled in court as Carson asked Huffman to impose criminal penalties against him, said he felt vindicated by the decision.

“All I have to say is that all it takes to file a motion is a typewriter,” McManus said.

He described the defense allegations as an attempt to focus attention away from the assault trial.

“They were quoted as saying Lt. Staley was going to come in and say all these things,” McManus said. “It didn’t happen. It’s just another fault, another red herring to try to get as far away from Mr. Balboa as possible.”

Earlier, Carson alleged in court papers that other police officers had been intimidated by McManus into not cooperating with the defense. But on Wednesday she said could not provide any evidence because six other officers had refused to talk to her.

McManus testified that, during an Aug. 12 telephone conversation, he warned Staley that Carson was attempting to use the same tactics employed by the defense in the Sagon Penn police murder trial.

“I told him this is a very unusual case because of Sagon Penn and you were attempting to use the same defense by putting the Police Department on trial,” McManus told Carson under cross-examination.

McManus said he told Staley that the Balboa assault case was “a very simple one with no defense. He attacked a police officer and was shot.”

Based largely on Williamson’s version of the altercation, Balboa was charged with assaulting the officer with a deadly weapon. Williamson has testified that he fired three shots at Balboa after the Logan Heights man came at him with a chrome bar that had broken off the light fixture atop the officer’s patrol car. Balboa had a high level of PCP in his blood at the time of the shooting, according to evidence at his preliminary hearing.

Other witnesses, however, testified that Balboa did not threaten Williamson and did not have a chrome bar or anything else in his hand at the time of the shooting.

The incident marked the third time in less than five years that Williamson had been involved in a shooting.