Mother, sister of late SJPD officer charged with robbery

SAN JOSE >> The mother and sister of a San Jose Police Department officer who died suddenly last month were charged on April 6 with robbing and burglarizing a relative at a senior living complex over the weekend, according to prosecutors and court documents.

In announcing the April 4 arrest of 52-year-old Sonya Steptoe, San Jose police did not mention that her daughter, Deja Packer, 32, also was arrested and booked in connection with the alleged crime.

Packer's arrest surfaced in a criminal complaint filed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, which charged Steptoe and Packer with first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, and both battery and false imprisonment of an elder adult. The charges come in connection with a breakin and theft reported on April 3 at the Mirador Senior Apartments on Coleman Road off Almaden Expressway.

Police were quick to emphasize that the arrest of Steptoe was not connected to the death of her son, 24-year-old De'Jon Packer, a rookie SJPD officer and former San Jose State University football standout who died suddenly March 13 at the same home.

An official cause of death is still pending, according to the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner's Office. De'Jon Packer was warmly remembered in a memorial service last month attended by several hundred people.

Both women were arraigned on April 6 in a San

Jose courtroom. Judge Shelyna Brown expressed strong concern about the nature of the alleged crimes, in which she revealed that the reporting victim is a relative of Steptoe for whom she had previously worked as a caregiver.

“The allegation of going to someone's home and kicking the door in, the fact the gentlemen is elderly … the most disturbing fact is Ms. Steptoe is alleged to have been a caregiver for this gentleman who is vulnerable,” Brown said.

Investigators say Steptoe — who was identified as Packer in a police account and jail records but is listed as Steptoe in the complaint — and her daughter forced their way into the home of Steptoe's relative “and took several electronic items, a phone, and his debit card.”

The resident of the apartment unit, described in the criminal complaint as a 74-year-old man, reportedly told police that Steptoe was responsible for the thefts.

But in contrast to the initial police account, prosecutors only charged the pair with robbing a cell phone from the man, according to the criminal complaint. The robbery and burglary charges carry potential sentencing enhancements based on the reported victim being over 65. The burglary charge also contains potential sentencing enhancements based on socalled “hot prowl” allegations, because the man was home at the time of the alleged intrusion.

Deja Packer's attorney noted that her client has no criminal history and asked for supervised release with electronic monitoring. Brown rescinded Packer's money bail, which had been initially set at $150,000, and ordered the release conditions and a no-contact order for the reported victim.

Brown was less flexible for Steptoe: She rejected Deputy Public Defender Meghan Piano's request to drastically decrease or eliminate her client's bail, which had been initially set at $200,000. Piano echoed a statement she gave on April 5 about Steptoe, telling Brown that “the heartbreak and trauma they've experienced in the past three weeks no doubt had bearing on this.”

In her previous statement, Piano said the person who called police on Steptoe was “exploiting her.” On April 6, she sought to advance that idea without going into full detail, and added that the family relationship makes the situation more complicated than the charges indicate.

“While the complaining witness is older, he is not a vulnerable victim,” Piano said. “This is a really unique case that has a really unique set of circumstances.”

Brown agreed about the unusual nature of the case, but said she “can't accept” the assertion “that a 70-year-old man in an assisted living facility is not vulnerable,” and that the family relationship meant Steptoe was in “a position of trust.”

Piano said Steptoe had little ability to post bail, and that keeping the established bail was the equivalent of remanding Steptoe to jail. Ultimately, Brown brought Steptoe's bail amount to $75,000 and ordered home detention, electronic monitoring, psychological counseling and a no-contact order regarding the man who reported her to police.