[Ppnews] Kevin Olliff pleads no-contest to stalking

[Political Prisoner News]

March 20, 2010

  Yesterday, Kevin Olliff signed a deal, pleading "no contest" to six
  felony charges (three stalking and three conspiracy to stalk
  -including conspiracy to stalk a school official).

  He was escorted to the courtroom late, and in an unusual grey uniform,
  because he is temporarily in the jail hospital fighting an infection
  in his lymph nodes. IV in arm, he signed a the plea document for three
  years and parole.

  Sentencing is scheduled for May 14th, so Kevin may have time to
  recuperate from his current condition. It will then be determined when
  and where he will be transferred to a state prison to carry out the
  rest of his time. Anyone in the Los Angeles, Orange County, or
  southern California vicinity is strongly encouraged to attend the
  sentencing to support Kevin in this decision. It will be at LA
  Superior Court (210 W. Temple St.) on the ninth floor in Department
  102.

  He has been in jail for a year, and has been receiving double-time
  retroactively after January 25th of this year. If he continues to be
  serving "good time", we can expect to have him out by mid-October.

  Write Kevin to help him pass the time before sentencing! (Please note
  he switched from D-Pod to C-Pod when addressing letters).

  Kevin Olliff #1300931
  TTCF 161 C-Pod
  450 Bauchet St.
  Los Angeles, CA 90012

  Kevin Olliff Support
***************************************
http://ccrjustice.org/ourcases/current-cases/state-california-v.-kevin-olliff

Kevin Olliff is an animal rights activist who was 
arrested April 18, 2009 on three year-old protest 
charges and now faces 10 felony counts. These 
felonies are multiple counts of: stalking, 
conspiracy, conspiracy to stalk, and threatening 
of a public servant. He is currently being held 
in Los Angeles County Jail awaiting trial. His 
indictment accuses him of associating with the 
Animal Liberation Front (ALF) which the State 
labeled a "gang" in the indictment. In December 
2009, CCR cooperating attorney Matthew Strugar 
joined with defense counsel to file a 995 Motion 
to Set Aside the Indictment, based in part on the 
theory that Olliff’s conduct was all protected by 
the First Amendment.. The judge has since ruled 
that case will go forward; however, he also ruled 
that the ALF does not meet the definition of a "gang."


Status

On January 26, 2010, at the pre-trial hearing, 
the judge ruled that ALF is not a "gang."
The trial is scheduled to begin on March 3, 2010.


Description

Kevin Olliff’s prosecution is in the line of 
other recent “Green Scare” cases where law 
enforcement target above-ground activists in an 
attempt to link them to illegal, underground 
activity. Much like the SHAC-7 and AETA-4, Olliff 
is indicted for incendiary speech 
activity­namely, chants at home demonstrations.

Like the AETA-4, Olliff’s case arises from the 
long-running campaign against primate research in 
the University of California system. The campaign 
has included a significant level of illegal 
activity aimed at UC researchers. Unknown 
individuals set a researcher’s porch on fire, 
‘flooded’ another researcher’s house by putting a 
garden hose through a window, firebombed multiple 
cars, sent threatening anonymous emails, and left 
an unlit Molotov cocktail on a researcher’s 
porch. The Animal Liberation Front and other 
underground animal rights organizations claimed 
responsibility for most of these actions.

The indictment makes reference to many of these 
illegal actions, alleging they were undertaken by 
unnamed coconspirators, and alleges Olliff’s 
speech activity constitutes overt acts in 
furtherance of the activity. However, there is no 
evidence that Olliff participated in any of the illegal activity.

The indictment also sought a gang enhancement 
penalty, alleging the ALF is a criminal street 
gang and Olliff is a member. However, the judge 
ruled that ALF does not meet the definition of a 
"gang." Oliff would have faced approximately 
twenty years imprisonment if convicted on all 
charges with the gang enhancements.  Since the 
judge denied the applicability of the gang 
enhancements, Olliff now faces only four and 1.2 years.






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