Isaac Brambila — Associate editor
LAKEPORT — A bail review and evidence finding hearing was continued Friday afternoon in the case of five people who were allegedly involved in a robbery turned manhunt during which the suspects shot a man and at police.
Dexter Lee Currington, 22, of San Francisco, made his first appearance in court with the rest of the group after being arrested on Sept. 18, nearly three months after the alleged robbery.
Judge Galen Hathaway continued the matter two weeks to Oct. 25 to allow attorneys who just joined the case time to review evidence. The hearing is expected to last most of the day, during which Lake County District Attorney Don Anderson will present one or two witnesses, he said.
Defense attorney Lisa Proffitt stepped back in to represent Sean Douglas Foss, 22, of Clearlake, to replace attorney Stephen Carter, who had previously stepped in for Proffitt. Proffitt motioned for the hearing to be continued so she could review roughly 700 pages and 10 discs worth of evidence.
Judge Hathaway said the court is trying to keep the five defendants under the same calendar and asked the rest of the attorneys if they seconded Proffitt”s motion.
Anderson said that the witnesses he planned to present in the hearing were not available Friday, but that they would be during a next date.
Barry Melton, who represents Tyler Christopher Gallon, 18, of Clearlake, agreed to the continuance and said that without the witnesses to be cross-examined the bail review could not take place. The other attorneys echoed Melton”s comments and added their clients to the motion.
Jenaya Drevelyn Jelinek, 22, of San Francisco, also changed representation and hired private attorney Alexander Nu?ez to replace court appointed attorney Thomas Quinn.
Currington, Jelinek, Foss, Gallon and Dion Andre Davis II, 26, of San Francisco, face combined charges including attempted murder, attempted murder of a peace officer, robbery and burglary.
The charges stem from an incident on June 28 that started with the alleged robbery of a Clearlake Oaks home during which a man was shot. The robbery later spurred a high-speed car chase that ended in a dead end street in Clearlake Park. When the suspects reached the end of the street, shots were fired at police and Davis, Foss and Gallon reportedly ran from the scene, leading a manhunt that lasted hours.
Jelinek was arrested soon after the car chase ended.
Currington allegedly fled the robbery in Cadillac Escalade allegedly stolen from the owner of the residence where the alleged robbery took place and managed to evade capture. He reportedly later abandoned the SUV and remained at-large for nearly three months. He was arrested in San Francisco last month.
The defendants with the most charges, namely Davis, could face life in prison, Anderson previously said. Jelinek, who was allegedly driving the getaway car, could face more than 13 years in prison, depending on her exposure to the charges.
The five suspects await further court proceedings in custody at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility. A hearing to confirm the Oct. 25 date for the bail review and evidence finding hearing is scheduled for Friday.
Isaac Brambila is an associate editor for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636 ext. 37 or at ibrambila@record-bee.com.
