[CA] Judge allows reduced charges for Public Defender Supervisor Karen Cabrera hiding son's domestic violence victim

...Deputy District Attorney Laura Gunn told the judge that prosecutors did view [Karen] Cabrera's case more seriously because the defendant had the specific purpose of trying to undermine the government's case against her son. Gunn urged the judge not to reduce the charge because doing so would send a message that the criminal conduct was "minor" and allow others to think it was OK to make witnesses "vanish" and make them unavailable at trial...

EX-INVESTIGATOR SENTENCED FOR HIDING WITNESS
 Mercury News, The Associated Press
Posted: 03/15/2010 09:25:37 AM PDT
Updated: 03/15/2010 05:15:41 PM PDT
A former high-ranking investigator with the San Diego County public defender's office has been sentenced to three years probation and 200 hours of community service for hiding a witness to her son's domestic violence case. Karen Cabrera was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to felony obstruction of justice. Cabrera's son and his girlfriend Jennifer Wren were involved in a 2008 domestic violence incident and Wren didn't show up at a preliminary hearing. Investigators say Cabrera took Wren to a Mexico resort. Cabrera's son pleaded guilty. The judge also reduced the crime to a misdemeanor, citing Cabrera?s lack of prior record, her work history and the fact the crime was an "aberration." [LINK]

EX-INVESTIGATOR FACES PROBATION FOR HIDING WITNESS
cbs8.com
Posted: Mar 15, 2010
[Excerpts] ...Karen Cabrera has pleaded guilty to felony obstruction of justice in exchange for the prosecution dropping charges of conspiracy and witness tampering. Sentencing is scheduled for Monday afternoon. Deputy District Attorney Laura Gunn says the prosecution won't oppose reducing the charge to a misdemeanor if Cabrera completes 1½ years of probation... [Full article here]

PUBLIC DEFENDER SENTENCED FOR WITNESS TAMPERING
sandiego6.com
3/15/2010
[Excerpts] ...Defense attorney Stephen Cline told Judge Kathleen Lewis that his client "went too far and made some bad choices out of love for her son [Alejandro "Alex" Cabrera], and nothing more. Cline, in asking that his client's conviction be reduced to a misdemeanor, argued that Cabrera's case was treated differently by the District Attorney's Office because of the job she held. Leaving the felony in place would prevent Cabrera from visiting her son in prison, Cline told the judge. Public Defender Henry Coker, speaking on behalf of Cabrera, said he worked closely with the defendant for 10 years, describing her as a hard working investigator who worked long hours on behalf of abused children who had become wards of the court... Cabrera retired from the Public Defender's Office after her arrest last April... Deputy District Attorney Laura Gunn told the judge that prosecutors did view Cabrera's case more seriously because the defendant had the specific purpose of trying to undermine the government's case against her son. Gunn urged the judge not to reduce the charge because doing so would send a message that the criminal conduct was "minor" and allow others to think it was OK to make witnesses "vanish" and make them unavailable at trial. "What this defendant did strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system," the prosecutor said. "A crime against the justice system needs to be treated seriously." But the judge, who agreed to reduce the crime to a misdemeanor, noted the defendant had no prior record and a lot of community support. "The crime itself, I think was an aberration," Lewis said... [Full article here]
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