Jury mum as usual
September 03, 2013 8:48 AM
By RICK ELKINS - relkins@portervillerecorder.com
The not-so-secret Tulare County Civil Grand Jury probe into alleged wrongdoings in the city has apparently ended with nothing from the jury.
John Duran, the citizen who filed a complaint against the city, told The Recorder last week that he has received a letter from the jury foremen telling him that the jury had reviewed all the allegations “and they concluded no further investigation was needed.”
Duran said he is now taking his complaint to the state Attorney General’s Office. Without going into specifics, Duran said his complaint deals with what he feels is a misappropriation of funds.
He said he was not certain, but he hoped the grand jury would have at least turned over its findings to the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office.
While not confirming if that had occurred, Assistant District Attorney Anthony Fulz said the jury has forwarded investigations to the DA’s office in the past.
As was the case last spring when he grand jury was subpoenaing residents and then grilling them for more than two hours, the jury has refused to comment. Several calls by The Recorder to the grand jury and its foreman went unanswered. The jury never confirmed the investigation, and now it is not confirming that there is no longer an investigation, although the letter to Duran points that way.
Duran said he filed his complaint on June 12, 2012. He said he last met with the grand jury on August 20 and was told then the investigation was concluded.
Porterville city manager John Lollis said he has not heard if the investigation has ended: “I don’t know. We haven’t heard of any more activity.”
While not called to testify, Lollis confirmed that others with the city had been called before the grand jury. He said the last time anyone was called was in May.
Lollis would like to see the grand jury issue some kind of a statement, especially if its investigation found no wrongdoing.
“It is one thing to be accused and not being able to defend yourself,” he said.
Unlike many other probes by the jury, there has not been a final report. The annual grand jury report that came out in June did not mention the city, the local schools or any investigation.
For more than six months, the civil grand jury interviewed a variety of Porterville residents on a variety of topics, but no one really knows for sure what the jury was seeking.
The Recorder learned thoseinterviewedincluded city council members, city staff and residents of the city. Information gathered by the paper found the interviews were conducted by the entire grand jury, not a committee of the jury.
The civil grand jury is an official body of 19 men and women chosen to perform duties as prescribed by California law, according to the Superior Court website. The jury acts as a watchdog by inquiring into the conduct of local government, investigates citizen complaints and ensures that officials and departments perform their duties properly and efficiently. Then, the civil grand jury writes reports using the information gathered in the investigations making recommendations for improvements.
The grand jury is seated in July and serves until the end of June. Jurors serve two-year terms, with roughly half of the jury replaced every year. Information is the newly impaneled jury ended the investigation. It appears the new grand jury decided not to continue the investigation.
David Gong, a former candidate for city council, said he was one of those called before the jury last year. He said the investigation was at the request of John Duran.
City council member Greg Shelton testified in January and said the investigation appeared to be very broad. Council member Cam Hamilton also was called in.
“There are so many directions they [the jury] aregoing in,” Shelton said in April, adding he was surprised by the range of questions he got.
“They were looking at a lot of things. I’d be curious what they findings will be,” said Shelton.
Shelton said he was aware of at least a half a dozen people who had been called in for questioning.
Gong said topics he was questioned about ranged from school issues to Chamber of Commerce issues and to individuals, however the grand jury spokesperson said the jury is only a watchdog over governmental agencies, not individual citizens.
Federal lawsuit
Duran also has a federal lawsuit against the city of Porterville stemming from an incident prior to the June 2012 city election. He said that incident, in which he alleges the police department violated his rights, also led him to file the complaint with the grand jury.
In the federal suit, Duran said he is charging his civil rights were violated when officers made him take down campaign signs he had put up in Veterans Park. City officials say it is illegal to place campaign signs on public property.
That suit is making its way through the federal court system.
Rick Elkins is editor of the Porterville Recorder. He can be reached at 784-5000, ext. 1040, or by email at relkins@portervillerecorder. com.
http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/jury-58229-probe-grand.html
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