Man accused of battery at protest is a no-show at court

Friday, September 21, 2007
Last modified Friday, September 21, 2007 12:27 AM PDT

By: SCOTT MARSHALL - Staff Writer

VISTA ---- A Fallbrook man may face arrest after he failed to appear in court Thursday morning for his scheduled arraignment on a battery charge in connection with an altercation with an anti-illegal immigration protester.

Reached by phone around noon Thursday, Fernando Guardado, 52, said he did not know prosecutors had charged him or that he was supposed to be in court Thursday morning.

The address to which the district attorney's office sent a letter last month to notify Guardado of the charge and the arraignment date contained two numbers that were transposed when compared to Guardado's actual address. Guardado said he never received the letter.

Deputy District Attorney Judy Taschner, the prosecutor assigned to the case, could not be reached Thursday for comment.

Prosecutors could ask for an arrest warrant for Guardado within the next week or two, the supervisor of the district attorney's North County office said.

The battery charge stems from an incident July 14 that occurred outside St. Peter's Catholic Church in Fallbrook, where a hiring site for day laborers exists. The anti-illegal immigration group San Diego Minutemen has held several rallies near the church to oppose the hiring site.

About 20 anti-illegal immigration protesters waving American flags and picket signs were present July 14. Dozens of Palomar College students and immigrants' rights activists who supported the church's day-labor site also were there.

Guardado and the alleged victim, Cedric Kiani Garcia, 50, of Vista, disagree about what happened outside the church that day when Garcia said something about a cracked windshield in the Guardado family's SUV.

Garcia said outside court Thursday that Guardado, a passenger in the vehicle, "erupted," got out of the SUV, and grabbed for Garcia's camera and struck him on the nose.

"What he did to me wasn't right," Garcia said.

Guardado, a parishioner at the church, said in a telephone interview Thursday that he never hit Garcia's nose.

Guardado said Garcia was calling his wife "all kinds of names and stuff" and that he reached for Garcia's camera to "get it out of my face." As soon as he touched the camera, Garcia sprayed him with Mace, Guardado said.

Garcia estimated he incurred about $2,400 to $2,600 in medical bills and that his $900 camera was destroyed in the incident.

Guardado said he and his wife were at St. Peter's that day to take some food to a priest there.

Supporters of both men attended Thursday's hearing.

Tina Jillings, co-founder of a Latino advocacy group called the Coalition for Justice, Peace and Dignity, said she was at the Fallbrook church on July 14, but Guardado was not with her group and that she never has met him before. Accompanied by two other Guardado supporters, Jillings said she came to court Thursday to show support for Guardado and his family.

Jillings said both men in the incident "were acting badly," but she believes the case against Guardado is "unfounded and ridiculous."

Several people attended the hearing in support of Garcia, including San Diego Minutemen leader Jeff Schwilk.

Schwilk, who attended the hearing but said he was not at the church the day of the incident, said outside of court Thursday that Garcia was a patriot.

Deputy District Attorney Dave Greenberg, who supervises the district attorney's North County office, said that in cases where his office sends a letter notifying someone of an arraignment date, a judge cannot immediately issue an arrest warrant for a failure to appear. Prosecutors would have to prepare an arrest warrant to be signed by a police officer and submit it to the judge for a warrant to be issued for Guardado's arrest for failing to appear in court.

That could happen within the next week or two, and the bail amount specified on the warrant probably would be around $10,000 to $15,000, Greenberg said.

Contact staff writer Scott Marshall at (760) 631-6623 or smarshall@nctimes.com.

Previous articles:
Assault charges filed against Fallbrook man after brief altercation
Sheriff's investigating confrontation during protest
Fallbrook church protest ends in confrontation



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