CHP officers’ hearing in Turlock murder case delayed

The preliminary hearing scheduled to begin Monday for two California Highway Patrol officers accused of obstructing justice in connection with a Turlock man’s slaying has been postponed to Oct. 13.

The hearing will take place after Judge Barbara Zuniga, a visiting judge from Contra Costa County, decides if the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office will stay on the murder case after a recusal hearing set to begin Thursday.

The officers, who are free on bail and have been placed on administrative leave, are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and being accessories in the March 2012 death of Korey Kauffman.

The victim is believed to have been burglarizing the 5-acre Turlock property of Modesto criminal defense attorney Frank Carson, who is accused of having been the ringleader in the conspiracy. Authorities claim Carson recruited a group of people to send a violent message to those stealing from him.

Scott McFarlane and Eduardo Quintanar Jr. are accused of helping their codefendants evade and disrupt the investigation into Kauffman’s death, including searching their vehicles for tracking devices and discouraging potential witnesses from talking to police. Investigators say McFarlane was Kauffman’s neighbor, and that McFarlane told some of his codefendants that Kauffman was a thief and “had to go.”

Six others, including Carson, have been charged with murder in Kauffman’s death. For now, they are being prosecuted separately. McFarlane and Quintanar are expected to waive their right to a preliminary hearing within 10 days of their arraignment Thursday.

Christina Anne DeFilippo, Carson’s stepdaughter, also has been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and being an accessory in Kauffman’s slaying. She too has decided to put off her preliminary hearing, for the time being. She also remains free on bail.

Tim Pori, an attorney representing Carson’s wife, Georgia DeFilippo, filed a motion asking the court to remove the District Attorney’s Office from the case. Carson’s wife has been charged with murder in Kauffman’s death.

Her attorney argues that his client’s arrest appears to have been motivated by the prosecution’s bitter hatred of Carson. Pori wrote in his motion that the case appears to be a concerted effort to discredit Carson and neutralize his presence in the community by any means necessary.

Carson has been an outspoken critic of District Attorney Birgit Fladager and her office while making arguments in court and during his unsuccessful bid for district attorney last year. He also has filed a civil lawsuit against the county, claiming a prosecution investigator accosted him in the courthouse hallway.

Carson also brought to the court’s attention allegations of jury tampering against the same prosecution investigator and a chief prosecutor who each face a contempt-of-court charge.

Prosecutors: No conflict of interest

The state attorney general’s office argues that while the defendant and Fladager have been political and legal opponents in the past, the defense has not proved there is a conflict of interest that would likely prevent the defendants from receiving a fair trial.

Personal animosity between Carson and Fladager doesn’t automatically amount to a conflict of interest, according to a filed opposition to the defense’s recusal motion.

“They claim that this ‘rancor’ has caused the district attorney to charge Mr. Carson, his friends, family and associates with crimes in order to discredit and neutralize Mr. Carson,” Deputy Attorney General Heather Gimle wrote in the opposition document. “However, they have not established a conflict.”

The state prosecutor also argues that Carson’s actions against Fladager and her office have come only after he was aware he was a suspect in the Kauffman case. Gimle says recorded conversations indicate that these actions were taken to disrupt the Kauffman investigation, and now those same actions are being cited to recuse the District Attorney’s Office.

Fladager wrote and submitted a declaration attached the opposition. The district attorney says all charges filed were based solely on the gathered evidence, not Carson’s political or legal opposition to her or members of her office.

She wrote in her declaration: “All future decisions in this case will be handled in the same just and fair manner.”

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 5:31 PM with the headline "CHP officers’ hearing in Turlock murder case delayed."