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Three weeks after an altercation at a political rally involving former Hollister City Council member Rick Perez and former San Benito County Sheriff Deputy Sandy Patterson on Oct. 18, the District Attorney’s office has declined to file charges against either party.
San Benito County District Attorney Joel Buckingham said his office received a request from Patterson to file charges against Perez for allegedly poking Patterson with his flag pole during the rally, and another from Perez to file charges against a man identified as David Pierce for allegedly elbowing Perez in the sternum at the same event.
Buckingham said he made the decision to not pursue charges on Nov. 7. He added he reviewed three videos of the incidents along with the witness statements provided by police.
“I’m not saying it didn’t happen, but we can’t put it on a level of beyond reasonable doubt,” Buckingham said.
Patterson, who previously stated she intended to file a complaint against Hollister police officers for their refusal to arrest Perez following the incident, did not immediately respond to BenitoLink’s request for comment.
Perez said he felt the investigation was not properly conducted.
“I’m not looking for any political favor or to work the system,” Perez said. “I’m asking for justice.”
He restated that although the members of the No on 50 group said he hurt Patterson, he was the one who got physically harmed and that his flag pole was damaged.
Buckingham said the charges in both cases would have been for battery, a misdemeanor.
The day of the incident, a small group opposing Prop. 50 and another much larger one at a No Kings protest that also backed the successful congressional redistricting measure both gathered at the corners of Hwy 25 and Tres Pinos/Sunnyslope Road.
At some point while attending the No Kings protest, Perez crossed the street to speak to the No on 50 about religion, according to him. Both Patterson, a member of the local Republican party organization, and Perez, a member of the local Democratic party organization, said the other person initiated the altercation.
“People’s statements were consistent with their memory of how the incident occurred,” Buckingham said. “However, when we compare that against the video, what we can prove to a jury is something different than peoples’ own perceptions of how the incident unfolded.”
Buckingham said the videos appeared to show there were people “brushing” against flags and objects others were holding but he couldn’t necessarily tell who was pushing or being pushed.
“Basically, people were claiming who shoved who first, if you will, and that wasn’t something we can prove with the video,” he said.
Buckingham said police forwarded the requests from Patterson and Perez to file charges, along with seven witness statements and or contact information to his office.
Patterson requested to press charges the day of the incident and Perez did it after at least two meetings with JW Paine, a member of the local Republic party organization, and press coverage, including in BenitoLink.
Paine had spoken in favor of Patterson during the Oct. 20 Hollister City Council meeting.
At the meeting, he said though he was not at the event, that the incident was uncalled for and that “no one should have the right to come over and physically touch another person.”
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