Dearest Friends and Family,
I am excited and encouraged beyond words that Alameda County District Attorney (DA) decided that all charges against the Land Action 4 (LA4) will be dropped!!!
On December 15th, The District Attorney’s prosecutor, Erin Loback, accepted the LA4’s counter-offer to a plea deal that the DA had offered in early September-- 10 months after the conclusion of the Preliminary Hearing. The Preliminary Hearing, pre-trial proceedings, and trial-scheduling had been dragged out for very close to two years; a trial date was finally set for May of 2018. However, it seems that the DA did not actually want to have to go to trial. Instead, the DA decided that all charges against Steven DiCaprio, Wren Hyde and Kelly Jewett would be dropped immediately and that Patrick Xu would be given a 6 month Deferred Entry of Judgment on one of the misdemeanor trespass charges--meaning that as long as Patrick Xu is on “good behavior” and doesn’t get arrested, his charges will be fully dismissed in 6 months.
The preliminary hearing concluded on December 2, 2016, with the verdict that all 7 criminal charges would hold and the case would go to trial. The LA4’s lawyers filed yet another motion to dismiss all charges, which was again denied by the court. Then, in early September, the DA brought forth a plea deal. It called for the LA4 to sign the quitclaim deed back over to Webb in exchange for reduced criminal convictions and exorbitant restitution, which included paying for damage to the Barbara Rd. house caused by Webb’s near decade of utter neglect. Unwilling to accept any convictions that would further the DA’s objective of criminalizing squatting, the LA4 rejected the deal and crafted a counter-offer. Three months of negotiations ensued, which ended on December 15th with the DA accepting the LA4’s counter-offer of no convictions and minimal restitution in exchange for signing the quitclaim deed that would clear Webb’s title to the Barbara Rd. house.
The LA4 will pay approximately $2000.00 in restitution to Webb for the cab fares between her home in Brentwood and the court, as well as the expense to change the locks at the Barbara Rd. house. The LA4 are planning several fundraisers to help cover these costs. Patrick Xu will also finally be allowed to retrieve his personal items, including a bicycle and a laptop, from the house on Barbara Rd.
Kelly Jewett, CEO
