Woman Gets Jail Term for Witness Intimidation

A 26-year-old former Ventura resident who told the grand jury that “all rats should die” was sentenced Wednesday to a year in county jail and three years probation for conspiring to intimidate a witness in a murder case.

Samantha Medina admitted in court last month that she agreed to help skinhead gang member Justin Merriman threaten a grand jury witness who testified against him last year.

Merriman, 26, is facing charges of murder, rape and other crimes in the 1992 slaying of Santa Monica College student Katrina Montgomery.

After his indictment on criminal charges, Merriman allegedly sought help from several female friends and his mother to scare witnesses.

So far, Medina; Merriman’s 51-year-old mother, Sue Merriman; and another woman, Jennifer Wepplo; have been indicted on charges of conspiracy and witness intimidation.

They are accused of disclosing to skinhead gang members the identity of witnesses who testified before the grand jury. Authorities had tried to protect the identity of witnesses, fearing retribution from gang members.

Medina, who now lives in Madera County near Fresno, is the first of the alleged co-conspirators to be sentenced.

At a hearing Wednesday before Ventura County Superior Court Judge Art Gutierrez, defense attorney Steve Powell requested a 180-day jail sentence for his client. Probation officials recommended 210 days.

But the judge sided with a request by the prosecution for a full year in custody, vehemently stating that he would send Medina to prison if not for the fact that she admitted to the crime.

“The court made it clear he was disgusted by the defendant’s action,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Bamieh.

Medina admitted to authorities that in late March she agreed to “take care of” a grand jury witness who allegedly helped prosecutors tie Merriman to Montgomery’s slaying.

Attempting to put that plan into action, Medina traveled from Madera County to Ventura in an unsuccessful attempt to look for the witness at a Ventura antique store where the witness used to work, authorities said.

Investigator Mark Volpei tracked Medina down in Madera, where she admitted the conspiracy plan, Bamieh said. In June, Medina testified before the Ventura County Grand Jury and admitted her role in the plot.

“She admitted with a great deal of pride what she did,” Bamieh said. “She told the grand jury, ‘All rats should die.’

“The grand jury wanted to indict her right after she took the stand,” he said. “As a prosecutor, it was one of the most chilling pieces of testimony I’ve heard in awhile.”

Medina later admitted that she entered into the conspiracy to benefit Merriman’s gang, the Skin Head Dogs.

Bamieh said Medina and Merriman apparently met through friends who lived in the Ventura Avenue area.

Medina stopped going to school after 11th grade. She admits being a member of a Ventura Avenue gang, and says she is not a skinhead, according to her probation report. She has two children and is seven months pregnant with a third child.

Last month, Medina pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit a crime. She could have faced a harsher sentence if she had carried out the threats, but Bamieh said authorities caught her before she contacted the witness.

Medina could be sent to prison for up to six years if she violates the terms of her probation.

In the other pending cases, Wepplo has also pleaded guilty to conspiring to intimidate witnesses. She is scheduled for sentencing Sept. 9.

Sue Merriman pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to intimidate witnesses and perjury. A court hearing on her legal representation is set for Aug. 26.

Meanwhile, seven people remain under investigation for their possible involvement in a plan to threaten witnesses, Bamieh said.

“Some indicated a desire to work with us, however, some have run for safety,” Bamieh said. “Those who’ve decided to run, we’re not going to chase now. But at the end of Mr. Merriman’s trial, we will find them.”

Merriman has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Montgomery and to 29 other criminal charges. A trial date is set for March.

Montgomery, 20, disappeared after leaving an Oxnard party on Nov. 28, 1992. Authorities recovered her blood-stained truck in the mountains near Los Angeles, but she was never seen again. The case stumped authorities for years.

But in 1997, investigators in the Ventura County district attorney’s office began chasing down old leads and developed a case against Merriman and two San Fernando Valley skinheads who attended the party with Montgomery.

One of them, Lawrence Nicassio, agreed to help prosecutors and told the grand jury that he saw Merriman rape, stab and beat Montgomery before slitting her throat with a knife. Nicassio said he was too terrified to intervene.

Merriman was indicted on murder and related charges on Jan. 6. After the witness threats came to light, the grand jury indicted him on additional charges of conspiracy to intimidate witnesses.

Bamieh has asked a judge to consolidate the two indictments into a single case and has requested permanent restrictions on Merriman’s jail communications. A hearing on those issues is set for Monday.