LAKEPORT
Sentencing for Upper Lake man convicted of murder to be heard in March
Willy Tujays Timmons, 41, of Upper Lake, convicted last November of murdering his partner with a rock in 2017, was recently present by remote appearance and in custody.
Due to the defendant being on medical quarantine at the jail, defense counsel, Thomas G. Feimer, requested a continuance.
The master calendar call hearing (to confirm parties are ready to proceed) has been continued to the end of this month, and the sentencing hearing has been set for March 2, 2022 at 8:15 a.m. in Department 2.
Timmons has been charged with murder, inflicting corporal injury with a prior conviction within seven years, causing permanent disability, and torture—along with two violations of probation, (battery on a non-cohabitating partner with a conviction on Sep. 12, 2016).
The charges stem from an incident in June of 2017 when Timmons was accused by the district attorney’s office of beating the mother of his children, Vanessa Niko, to death with a rock during an argument. The 35-year-old Habamatolel Pomo citizen succumbed to her wounds at the scene.
A jury trial convicted the defendant Nov. 17, 2021 of murder, inflicting corporal injury with prior (within 7 years), causing permanent disability and torture.
The matter was referred to the Lake County Probation Department for a pre-sentencing report.
Mr. Feimer informed the court that the motion for a new trial is being withdrawn by the defense.
During a settlement conference in July of this year, the defendant requested a Marsden Motion. The Court was cleared of everyone other than the Court staff. The Marsden Motion was conducted, granted and sealed.
After the Court was re-opened, Attorney Mitchell Zale Hauptman was relieved as defense counsel for the defendant and the Court appointed Thomas G. Feimer as counsel for the defendant.
A Marsden motion is a legal document, brought by a defendant and filed with the Court, seeking to fire the defendant’s court-appointed attorney. The Court considers and rules on the motion at a Marsden Hearing.
During a hearing in 2018, to determine if the death penalty would be sought for Timmons, deputy district attorney John Langan announced that the Lake County District Attorney’s Office would not be pursuing the matter as a death penalty case.
The defendant remains in custody.
—Lori Armstrong
NAPA
Rep. Mike Thompson files for reelection to represent newly drawn Fourth Congressional District
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson announced that he has filed to run for reelection in the newly numbered Fourth Congressional District. The district includes all of Lake and Napa Counties and portions of Solano, Sonoma and Yolo Counties.
“I’m excited to run for reelection in the newly drawn 4th Congressional District,” said Rep. Mike Thompson. “I was born, grew up and have lived my entire life in our district and I consider it the honor of my life to represent our beautiful region in Congress.
“Families here want a fair shake: well-paying jobs, affordable health care, a clean environment, quality education, and dignity in retirement. They want to know that if they work hard and play by the rules, they can leave more for their children than they themselves had – that the American Dream is alive and well. Folks here want to put food on the table and gas in the car, cover their mortgage payment, and provide an education for their kids without going broke.
“From my first day in Congress, I’ve made these shared priorities the focus of my work. I will continue pushing for sensible, responsible policy solutions that bolster the middle class, create jobs, lower the cost of housing and health care, and strengthen Medicare and Social Security for future generations. I will continue working to empower young people by advancing bold policies that protect our environment and invest in education. And, as Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, I will not stop until H.R. 8, my Bipartisan Background Check Act, is enacted into law to help prevent senseless gun violence and save lives.
“In the current Congress, I also authored the most sweeping climate policy ever to pass the House of Representatives. It is the flagship climate policy of President Biden’s agenda. As chairman of the Select Revenues Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy, I advanced the Child Tax Credit, a tax cut for working families with children that has already significantly reduced child poverty in the months since it was first enacted.
“The past two years have been challenging for all of us. The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented test, one that has taken hundreds of thousands of lives, has repeatedly pushed our health care system to the brink, and has disrupted our economy in every conceivable way. Know that as we continue to battle the virus, I will always place our community at the forefront.
“For all of these reasons, I have earned the endorsement of mayors, supervisors, sheriffs and district attorneys from every county in our district as well as hundreds of business owners, farmers, educators, community leaders and countless other hardworking men and women in our district.
“We have a shared commitment to our great country: because we share the responsibility of building and maintaining a great nation, we share in its challenges and we share in its successes. We are in this together and I will continue to fight for our district in Congress.”
For information about the newly drawn and numbered Fourth Congressional District visit https://www.wedrawthelinesca.org/final_maps. For more information about Congressman Mike Thompson’s campaign, visit https://www.mikethompsonforcongress.com/
—Submitted
