BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Don Lacey and a buddy entered the parking garage at 18th and Eye streets with some takeout from Wienerschnitzel. They intended to eat a quick meal then leave.
But a confrontation with a security guard left Lacey facing a felony threats charge — an offense that, given his prior criminal history, could have sent him to prison for life.
After a weeklong trial, jurors on Thursday rejected the prosecution’s case.
It took fewer than 20 minutes for them to return verdicts of not guilty, said Lacey’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jennifer Melgar.
She said the case should never have gone to trial, adding she made repeated, fruitless attempts to negotiate a plea bargain.
Melgar noted that the security guard, whose testimony was a key part of the prosecution’s case, had three outstanding warrants at the time — one of which included an allegation that she had previously lied to the police.
I think the DA tried to make my client out to be a monster because he has a criminal history," Melgar said. "That’s not how the system works, that not how you have a fair trial and that’s not justice.
Some jurors were troubled that the case had made it this far.
"It was something that was so obviously not criminal that most of the time we were like, ‘How did this get to trial?'" said juror Heather Ball, who spoke with 17 News on Friday morning.
Roberta Becka, another juror, questioned why Lacey was even arrested.
Honestly, it wasn’t much of a case," she said. "The DA’s Office didn’t prove anything. They didn’t have much in the way of evidence at all.
A third juror, Brad Bone, agreed.
"It was a disturbingly weak case," he said.
The DA's Office responds
The District Attorney’s Office released the following statement Friday afternoon:
The role of the jury is fundamental in our justice system. While we presented what we considered strong evidence, the jury did not find it sufficient to meet the 'beyond a reasonable doubt' standard for conviction. We respect their decision, as it reflects the core principle of our judicial process.
As for not engaging in plea bargaining, prosecutors cited a section of the penal code which says negotiations are prohibited on cases in which a “serious felony” is charged unless there’s insufficient evidence to prove the case.
"Given the video evidence available, we believed there was sufficient corroborative evidence to prove the felony charges beyond a reasonable doubt," prosecutors said.
They never considered the defense’s offer — which involved pleading to a misdemeanor — "given the severity of the charges and the defendant’s extensive criminal background."
That background includes a conviction for voluntary manslaughter outside of Kern County. Lacey was on parole for that crime at the time of his arrest, prosecutors said.
Under the three strikes law, prosecutors said, they were unable to offer anything less than what he faced if convicted — 25 years to life.
Parking lot confrontation
Lacey and his friend entered the parking structure at about 3:50 p.m. on Feb. 27. They walked to the second floor with bags of takeout, intending to sit down and eat.
A Trans-West security guard approached them moments later. She said they were trespassing and needed to leave.
According to the security guard, Lacey charged at him. He never touched her, but the security guard said he raised his fists and threatened to "knock her out," according to the Public Defender’s Office.
The guard pushed Lacey as he made his way back to the stairwell, according to the Public Defender’s Office. He and his friend walked downstairs and left the structure.
The entire encounter was captured on surveillance video. There’s no audio to go with the footage.
Less than four minutes passed from the moment the men entered the parking garage to when they left.
The security guard called 911 and Lacey was taken into custody. He was charged with felony criminal threats and misdemeanor trespassing and assault.
The trespassing charge was dismissed before trial.
Conflicting accounts
The security guard never mentioned being threatened in her call to 911.
It wasn't until the guard was questioned by a Bakersfield police officer that she said Lacey threatened her by saying "I'm going to knock you out," or something like that, Melgar said.
The guard was unclear when cross-examined by Melgar as to what Lacey’s exact words had been.
Lacey was adamant he never threatened her.
Although he rapidly approached the guard, he testified all he did was try to annoy her by mimicking a dance move performed by Will Smith on the 1990s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” said juror Becka.
Why would you admit that if that's not what you were doing?" Becka said with a laugh. "It's embarrassing.
And while his behavior may have been foolish, she said it didn’t rise to the level of being criminal.
Juror Ball said it appeared Lacey had "a moment of defiance" upon being told to leave, but it never appeared he meant to harm the security guard.
The only evidence of the threat was the statement made by the guard.
And she wasn’t convincing, jurors said.
They questioned why Lacey was even arrested, let alone charged, saying there was no convincing evidence of either a threat or assault.
"Honestly, I don’t know why the District Attorney’s Office is wasting resources bringing something like that to trial," Becka said.
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