CA: Marin Prosecutor Anti-Self Defense in Doctor "road rage" case?

Dr. Simon and presumed wife of 38 years, center.

Dr. Simon had the charges against him dismissed by the judge during a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, 6 January, 2015.  He had plead not guilty and had claimed self defense.   The incident occurred about six months ago on July 17, 2014, at his home in Corte Madera, in a canyon in Marin County California.

Dr. Simon and his wife, in a "Smart car" drove around business mogul William D. Ostenton, who was in a small Mercedes.   Perhaps Mr. Ostenton was on the phone or distracted.  Notice that the Doctor and his wife are not large people.

Ostenton took exception to the Doctor's driving and aggressively followed them for nearly a mile, and blocked the closing of their automated garage door with his car's hood.

The Doctor fired a "warning shot" to alert the aggressor that he was armed.  The shot was directed into the unoccupied opposite hillside of the canyon where they live.

William D. Osenton, from Tiburon, California, Former President of Pacific Guarantee Mortgage Corp.

Osenton's testimony did not hold up.  From cbslocal.com:

Testimony called into question Ostenten’s memory of the incident. He reported having only “flashes” of memory. At one point, he told police that he put his hands up and said ‘Don’t shoot,’ but he also told police he never saw the doctor holding a gun.

Marin County DA Ed Berberian does not like the judges decision, and is not shy about saying so.   Making comments essentially disparaging the judge does not show good judgement, and it likely does not sit well with the judge, either.  Here is the quote by DA Berberian:

“I’m very disappointed in the ruling. I think it sends the wrong message to the community. Since I have been DA, I have been extremely sensitive to the issue of gun violence. I don’t want that in our community. We have to have some community standards,” Berberian said.

Any DA that separates out "gun violence" from other types of violence shows a  distinct bias.  He probably should not be a DA. 

The Judge's decision appears well thought out; the District Attorney's does not.  An aggressive man follows you home, essentially forces his way into your dwelling by blocking the door from closing with a car, ignores shouted warnings, ignores a "warning shot", and appears to be much larger and in better physical condition.

As the Doctor testified "What else was I supposed to do?"

I wrote about the incident last July.

One of the comments from marinij.com indicated an anti-self defense bias in DA Berberian:

In the other case I mention, a person was arrested after shooting a knife- wielding attacker who had broken into the victim's house through the window while the victim was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher. The victim had never committed a crime in their life and had a restraining order against the attacker. The victim had called the police many times about the attacker. The attacker got in through the broken window, lunged at the victim to wrest the gun away and was shot and killed. The victim was charged with murder by our Marin DA but the judge threw out the charge, so the DA is now pursuing manslaughter charges against the victim. The victim is still in jail after many months, awaiting trial, cannot afford the bail amount. I read in the IJ that the DA will push for 21 years prison time, because he used a gun. 21 years for defending yourself in your own home against an armed intruder while you are on the phone to 911? REALLY?!?

For those who think justice is purchased in the United States, note that Osenton seems to be the much wealthier man.   Even if he had not been wealthy, it is unlikely that the prosecutor would have charged him with trespass.  Two .357 slugs to the gut was probably considered enough punishment for his absurd lack of judgment.  They must have excellent medical care in Marin for him to survive.

I did not hear of any toxicology reports from the shooting.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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