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| Olivia Ramirez of Oklahoma, chained to barrels of concrete on MLK Day --Hive Swarm Media Image |
Seven of 12 persons arrested while
publicly defending water over oil at the Valero Energy refinery on MLK Day in
Memphis are set for preliminary hearings tomorrow May 2 at the Shelby County
Justice Center, 201 Poplar Avenue.
Cases were continued from Feb. 15 when
defense attorneys asked police for any body-worn camera footage they had.
At a preliminary hearing, the arresting
officer usually testifies, and the judge must determine if there is probable
cause to support the charge. Defendants
are not required to testify, and typically defense attorneys use the hearings
to determine what evidence the prosecution has and how the state intends to
prosecute the cases.
Cases can be resolved in various ways at
this juncture, ranging from dismissal of charges, to making some sort of deal
for pleas and costs to advancing to trial.
Three cases against the five others
arrested in front of the Valero pumping station on Mallory Drive were
dismissed, and two cases were disposed of by the defendants paying costs and
fines.
Calling themselves water protectors and
representing Arkansas Rising to protest the 440-mile Diamond Oil pipeline form
Cushing, OK, to Valero’s refinery on the banks of the Mississippi River, five
of the remaining defendants were among seven chained together through 55-gallon
drums filled with concrete: Olivia
Ramirez of Shiatook, OK; Erick Conner of Glenpool, OK; Katherine Hanson of
Rutledge, MO: Clay Ayers of Memphis, and Spencer Kaaz of Memphis. They were charged with disorderly conduct,
obstructing a highway or passageway and criminal trespass, all Class C
misdemeanors.
Rachel Gay of Rutledge, MO, and Seema
Rasoul of Memphis were charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing a
highway or passageway.
An independent journalist with Hive Swarm
News & Media, Gay was filming the action when arrested Jan. 16, the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The disorderly conduct charge was dismissed
for a defective warrant. In arresting officer Daniel Dermyer’s affidavit, he notes that there were “20-30”
persons present, and that they had not obtained a protest permit, which the
city of Memphis requires for assemblies of 25 or more persons.
Gay was not part of the protest nor was
she an organizer – environmental activists Arkansas Rising organized the event
– so it is notable that the officer complained against Gay on the basis of no
permit, and he even acknowledged that the number of people assembled may not
have reached the 25-person threshold.
Neither was Rasoul chained into one of
five barrels, which obstructed but did not close the Valero entrance and exit
driveways. She was arrested while she
was on the public sidewalk along Mallory Avenue -- although Memphis police had shut down Mallory Avenue from all traffic including local media.
The cases are sorted among five
courtrooms:
Division 7, judge William Bill
Anderson: Spencer Kaaz, represented by
Seth Segraves. Olivia Ramirez,
represented by Jason Ballenger.
Division 11, judge Karen Massey: Clay
Ayers, represented by Michael Working.
Division 12, judge Ronald Lucchesi: Seema
Rasoul, represented by Jason Ballenger.
Erick Conner, represented by Ballenger.
Division 13, judge Louis J. Montessi
Jr.: Rachel Gay, represented by Michael
Working; Katherine Hanson, represented by Seth Segraves.
Since initially being charged, disorderly
conduct against Hanson has been dismissed for “no probable cause,” and criminal
trespass against Kaaz was dismissed without cost.
Related videos and stories:
#WatchTheWatchers
They need better attorneys!
ReplyDeleteWe are watching. The Creator is with you!! Prayers up from Tahlequah Oklahoma! #thisoneischerokeee
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