French to go to trial in assault case
Machete attack stemmed from property dispute
A property dispute is what caused an altercation to allegedly escalate to the level of assault between a recent Humboldt County Board of Supervisors candidate and his neighbor, says the officer who arrested the former.
Yurok Tribal Police Officer Kamrin Brigance testified at the Humboldt County courthouse Tuesday that the dispute between Hydesville resident and former 2nd District supervisor candidate Richard French and his neighbor Bryan Richter occurred over French placing potted plants on a disputed portion of the property line. Brigance said he had not checked with the Humboldt County Assessor’s Office to determine whose property actually encompassed the disputed portion of land.
The altercation occurred when Richter drove a skidsteer within 15 to 20 feet of the area “to clear some things off of his property,” Brigance said, at which point Richter and witnesses to the altercation said French began attacking the skidsteer and Richter with a machete.
Richter said the machete came within inches of his face and neck, after which he exited the skidsteer and pulled out his legally concealed firearm, Brigance said. At that point, Richter and witnesses said French began chasing Richter around the skidsteer before being struck by a Taser used by one of the witnesses.
French’s attorney Deputy Public Defender Ben McLaughlin asked Brigance if Richter told him about French complaining to Richter’s wife about her husband destroying his plants the previous day, to which he responded in the affirmative.
“The defendant had gone to Mr. Richter’s residence the previous night and had confronted Mr. Richter’s wife and then drove away from the residence in an aggressive manner,” Brigance said. “… He seemed upset that the defendant had confronted his wife.”
A machete constitutes a deadly weapon, but McLaughlin said there was ambiguity in this case as to whether French was properly and legally defending his property. Brigance testified Richter showed him a map diagramming the property boundaries, but McLaughlin said “clearly there is a dispute about that.”
“And if Mr. French was in fear for his property being vandalized and had an ongoing dispute with
this gentleman in the past regarding the same behavior, I wouldn’t necessarily call those actions unjustified,” McLaughlin said.
However, Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees said that wasn’t a valid legal reason for assault with a deadly weapon.
“California allows deadly force to prevent death or great bodily injury,” Rees said. “So I don’t believe there’s any justification for the use of deadly force by the defendant.”
At the same time, McLaughlin said French is older and slight of frame and encountered “a younger male driving a piece of heavy equipment
toward his property” though Rees countered there was no evidence presented that Richter is a younger male.
Based on Brigance’s testimony, Judge Timothy Canning decided there was enough evidence to hold French for trial.
“At least at this point, there just is not sufficient evidence that’s been provided by the defense to establish any type of justification even to the extent that that is a defense to an assault,” Canning said. “And so with that, the court is going to hold the defendant to answer as to Count 1, which alleges the crime of assault with a deadly weapon.”
French, who appeared by video conference wearing an orange jumpsuit, a face mask and sunglasses, wasn’t happy about not
being able to go home or speak at the preliminary hearing.
French would be able to go home only if he paid his bail, which is currently set at $35,000, Canning said, adding it’s the attorney’s call whether or not to have the defendant speak at the preliminary hearing.
“And certainly, it usually is not in your best interest to give a statement at this point,” Canning said.
The proceeding concluded with Canning muting French’s microphone after he continued to speak upon being told to speak with his attorney about his concerns.
French will be arraigned on the information at 8:30 a.m. May 27.