CASE OF INTEREST

Date: March 11, 2005

Case: Marty Way Effigy

Contact: Lana Wyant
Special Assistant Deputy District Attorney
Telephone: 874-5907


The District Attorney’s Office has reviewed the police reports associated with two separate instances in which an effigy of a U.S. Soldier was removed from the exterior of a home on Marty Way in Sacramento.

The reports of the first incident were sent to this office as an arrest warrant for misdemeanor vandalism. We have determined there is insufficient evidence to establish that a vandalism was committed because the person who allegedly removed the effigy did not damage it or any other portion of the property.

The District Attorney’s Office also reviewed this case as a possible trespass violation under Penal Code Section 602(k). Although the conduct reported might constitute a technical violation of the trespass law, it is so deminimus in nature that we would not ordinarily file charges. We see no reason to deviate from our normal filing standards in this instance.

Some time after the above incident a second effigy was placed on the exterior of the Marty Way home. The effigy was later taken down from the home. The police reports and other evidence on the second incident provide no witness to the crime, nor any other evidence to support the charge against any individual.

Not all individual or community disputes necessitate criminal prosecution. In light of all of the above, we have declined to file charges in these matters.