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BAIL FIRM IN ABALONE CASE
Published on August 22, 1996
© 1996- The
Press Democrat
PAGE: B2
COLUMN: Police and Courts
A judge on Wednesday refused to lower the bail for three
Santa Barbara men accused of abalone poaching off the
Sonoma County coast, saying their $25,000 bail was reasonable
for someone who was ``out there raping the coast.''
The defendants, Lance Anthony Robles, 33, a commercial
abalone fisherman who just had his license seized in
Los Angeles; Christopher Andrew Weighill, 34, also a
commercial fisherman; and Timothy David Contreras, 27, are
charged with felony conspiracy and face three years in prison
if convicted.
At a bail hearing, Weighill's court-appointed lawyer,
Walter Rubenstein, said Weighill has no prior criminal record
and asked the judge to reduce his $25,000 bail.
``They were using radios and scuba gear out there
raping the coast,'' Municipal Court Judge Frank Passalacqua
said. ``Bail of $25,000 is reasonable notwithstanding his lack
of criminal record.''
The judge noted Robles has a prior conviction for fish
and game violations and Contreras hasn't been making his
childsupport payments.
Passalacqua retained the $25,000 bail for all three
defendants and continued the case until Friday for setting a
preliminary hearing after all three pleaded not guilty.
State park rangers arrested the trio on suspicion of
poaching 46 abalone for commercial purposes from Fort
Ross Reef on the Sonoma County coast.
Keywords: FISHING CRIME
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