Defense attorneys are arguing in court that there’s no basis for most of the charges against eight street vendor activists arrested by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department last month
Several officers and deputies from the Pomona Police Department and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department testified during an ongoing preliminary hearing about what they allegedly witnessed at two different protests against police brutality last September.
On September 3, authorities say Edin Enamorado and some of his co-defendants had an altercation with a security guard at an El Super grocery store in Pomona.
Three weeks later, law enforcement says members of the group engaged in another physical confrontation with a man at a car wash in Victorville.
Officers and deputies say that in both cases the group entrapped the alleged victims and assaulted them with kicks, punches and pepper spray.
Detective Alejandro Duran, one of the lead investigators with the Sheriff’s Department, says video evidence indicates the group conspired to take violent action against the alleged victims.
But, on cross-examination, Duran and other officers couldn’t confirm who started the fighting.
Defense attorneys presented video evidence that they say shows that the alleged victims may have instigated some of the defendants.
Attorney Nicholas Rosenberg represents Edin Enamorado, the alleged leader of the group. He says he’ll continue to poke holes against the DA’s charges.
"Because now the scare tactics and all the fear mongering for public safety…I think this judge can see through that," Rosenberg said.
The preliminary hearing is set to continue through Wednesday
