State May Take Over Ventura Co. Slaying Case

A Ventura County murder case could be handed over to state prosecutors before the end of the month as a result of allegations that local authorities acted illegally and unethically.

Bridget Callahan, a 31-year-old Ventura woman accused of helping two skinhead gang members kill a teenage girl, filed a motion last week to recuse the Ventura County district attorney’s office from the case.

Callahan accuses prosecutors of promising her immunity and then indicting her for murder after she revealed details of the killing.

After filing the recusal motion, defense attorney Joseph O’Neill forwarded a copy of the request to the California attorney general.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Schwartz said Monday that his office denies the allegations but will not oppose the request.

“There is at least an appearance of a conflict,” Schwartz said. “And therefore I believe it would be appropriate for the attorney general to step in.”

Attorney general spokesman Nathan Barakin said the matter is under review. A hearing is set for Nov. 16.

The allegations come amid a contested race for district attorney and have led to subpoenas being issued for six prosecutors, including Dist. Atty. Michael Bradbury and the two candidates vying to succeed him: Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Greg Totten and Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Bamieh.

Bamieh was the prosecutor on the Callahan case, and Totten is one of his supervisors.

On Monday, Bamieh said he was disappointed to learn that prosecutors don’t plan to fight the recusal motion, which he says has no merit. He said he and other investigators acted ethically and legally and worked too hard on the case to see it handed to another office.

“There is no conflict,” Bamieh said. “In the past, we have fought allegations like this tooth and nail.”

In other developments, Schwartz filed a motion Monday to quash the subpoenas for Bradbury and Totten. But that issue is expected to take a back seat to the recusal issue.

During a hearing Monday, Superior Court Judge Vincent O’Neill Jr. said Callahan’s murder case is on hold until the questions concerning who will prosecute her are resolved.

Prosecutors maintain there was no misconduct.

Callahan is facing one count of first-degree murder and related allegations that could send her to prison for life without parole in the slaying of Nichole Hendrix, 17, of Ventura in 1998. She rejected an offer to plead guilty to second-degree murder.