Los Angeles woman who picked up police
baton could get 25 years
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[July 24, 2015]
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A homeless
Los Angeles woman who picked up a police baton during a chaotic scuffle
between officers and another transient faces a possible prison sentence
of 25 years to life on charges of assault and resisting arrest if
convicted at trial, a spokesman for prosecutors said on Thursday.
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An attorney for Trishawn Carey, 34, whose prosecution has been
criticized as excessive by local activists, said on Thursday he
expects his mentally ill client to be released on $50,000 bail by
Friday.
A Los Angeles judge on Wednesday reduced Carey's bail to that amount
from more than $1 million after finding the higher figure was
excessive, said her lawyer Milton Grimes.
Carey was captured on surveillance video picking up a police baton
from the ground during a scuffle in March between Los Angeles police
and homeless man Charly Keunang that resulted in the Cameroonian's
shooting death.
The police shooting gained widespread attention, even as Carey's
arrest was largely overlooked.
In the video, Carey briefly holds up the baton and faces officers
before two of them push her to the ground.
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Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 25 years to life for Carey if
she is convicted on charges of assault on an officer and resisting
arrest. Her prosecution has raised questions about California's
three-strikes law, a 1994 measure that provides for lengthy
sentences on a conviction for a violent or serious crime after two
prior convictions.
"Somebody like Trishawn could be disappeared into the system so
quickly if people aren't looking out for her," said Cynthia Ruffin,
an activist working on the case for the organization Los Angeles
Community Action Network.
Carey has previous convictions for robbery in 2002 and assault with
a deadly weapon in 2006, Los Angeles District Attorney's Office
spokesman Greg Risling said.
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Risling confirmed Carey faces a possible sentence of 25 years to
life under the three-strikes law, but declined to respond to
criticism from activists about the charges.
Deputy district attorney Gregory Denton, who is prosecuting the
case, told the Los Angeles Times this week he will not seek to prove
Carey swung the baton or struck anyone.
"An attempt to strike someone is assault," Denton told the
newspaper. "There's no mystery here."
Grimes said his client suffered from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder
and depression and her prior convictions stemmed from her mental
illness.
If Carey is released on bail, a judge has ordered her to enter a
program that houses and supports formerly incarcerated women, Grimes
said.
(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Eric Walsh)
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