Supervisor Efren Carrillo's Peeking Trial Postponed

By Bay City News

Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo's trial on a misdemeanor peeking charge was postponed Friday morning in Sonoma County Superior Court.

The trial had been set for Feb. 28 but was rescheduled to March 7. After a settlement conference Friday, Carrillo's attorney Chris Andrian said he and Napa County Deputy District Attorney Cody Hunt have not had time to discuss a settlement of the case.

Hunt is representing the state Attorney General's Office, which is trying the case instead of the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office. Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch and Carrillo are political allies.

Andrian said both the prosecution and the defense owe it to each other to "sit down and talk it out to see if there is common ground."

Carrillo, 32, the county's Fifth District supervisor, has pleaded not guilty to peeking into the door and window of a female neighbor's house on July 13.

The woman, whose name has not been disclosed, called police around 3:40 a.m. to report someone tried to enter her bedroom window. She called police again while they were responding and said someone knocked on her door, identified himself as a neighbor and ran away.

Carrillo, who lived nearby on Brockhurst Drive at the time, was in his socks and underwear and was carrying a cellphone when he was arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary and prowling.

Santa Rosa police Sgt. Terry Anderson said the screen on the woman's bedroom window had been torn enough to allow someone to reach through it and a partially open window.

The woman said she was awakened by the sound of window blinds being moved, Anderson said.

Carrillo entered an alcohol treatment center for five weeks after his arrest. When he unexpectedly returned to a Board of Supervisors meeting on Aug. 20, he publicly apologized, disclosed he is a binge drinker and said he is continuing outpatient treatment.

Carrillo was not in court at Friday morning's hearing.

Andrian said the public perception that the case is "dragging on" for political reasons is not true. He said it's not unusual for a trial to start six to nine months after an arrest.

Carrillo was not charged with misdemeanor peeking until Oct. 31. Andrian entered a not guilty plea on Carrillo's behalf on Dec. 13.

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