Jurors will resume deliberations Friday morning following closing statements in Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo's misdemeanor peeking trial.
Carrillo, 33, is charged with peeking into the door or window of his Brockhurst Drive neighbor, who has been identified only as Jane Doe, around 3:30 a.m. on July 13.
Napa County Deputy District Attorney Cory Hunt told a Sonoma County Superior Court jury today Carrillo is guilty because he lingered, prowled or wandered on private property, was on the property with no lawful purpose and peeked into Jane Doe's front bedroom window and sliding glass door in the back of the apartment.
Defense attorney Chris Andrian told the jury there was no evidence other than Carrillo's admission to police that he peeked around a corner of the rear patio to see if a light was on in Jane Doe's apartment.
"They charged 'peeking in.' What evidence is there that he was able to peek in?" Andrian asked. "There is no independent evidence that sliding glass door was capable of being peeked through," Andrian said.
Jane Doe's front window was open but the blinds were closed, according to trial testimony. Carrillo testified he did put his hand past a broken corner of the screen and through the open bedroom window but he did not peek into any window of the apartment.
During Carrillo's 90-minute testimony he admitted he went over to Jane Doe's apartment with two beers early that morning because he wanted to continue drinking and because he was hoping to have sex with her.
He said his girlfriend dropped him off at his apartment after they spent the evening at the Space XXV nightclub in Santa Rosa.
He said he was thinking about visiting his neighbor during the ride home from the nightclub. Carrillo and Doe both testified they had three previous brief encounters, but Doe said they did not have a romantic relationship, and that she was shocked when Carrillo showed up with a bottle of wine at her apartment in June.
Carrillo said he wanted to welcome her to the neighborhood, and Doe said he gave her an air kiss and a hug. She said she found that "weird and creepy."
When Hunt asked Carrillo why he thought Jane Doe would want him to show up in his socks and underwear at her apartment at that hour, Carrillo said he wanted to "rekindle" their relationship. "What relationship were you going to rekindle?" Hunt asked.
Carrillo then said he had "an over-inflated opinion" of himself and thought Jane Doe "looked at me from my own perspective."
"I felt I was on top of the world," Carrillo said.
He said he was young and had been elected and re-elected county supervisor. He said he had a big ego, was self-centered and selfish.
"I thought I could do anything I wanted," he said. "I had my own reality."
"I made a huge mistake," Carrillo said.
He admitted Jane Doe did nothing to indicate she was interested in a relationship and that he had "crossed boundaries."
Carrillo gave statements to police when he was arrested for prowling and burglary later that morning. He told police he knocked on Jane Doe's front door, but left when he heard a male voice inside say 'What the hell?'
He testified today he knocked on Jane Doe's front door, then went to the patio area in back or her apartment and noticed a light coming out of a sliding glass door. He said he went back to the front door and knocked again.
He said someone said 'Who is it' and he said, 'It's Efren, your neighbor.' When he heard a man's voice inside, he left, Carrillo said.
Carrillo said he damaged the screen and put his hand through the bedroom window after he returned from the back patio to the front of the apartment and before he knocked for the second time on the front door.
Carrillo said several times this morning he could not remember some of the details of the incident. He testified he did not want to admit to police officers during the interviews that he had done anything wrong.
"I realized I had been caught with my pants down," Carrillo said.
"There may be a lot of stuff you don't like about Mr. Carrillo, but our legal system has rules and laws we must follow, and one of them is the prosecution must prove the case without a reasonable doubt," Andrian said.
Andrian also told the 11 women and three men on the jury he was not there to apologize for Carrillo. "Mr. Carrillo was not being up front (with police) about why he went over there," Andrian said.
"It's obvious Mr. Carrillo's intent was to see if this woman wanted to have a couple beers and who knows where it goes," Andrian said. "His intent was not to peek."
"I'm not saying it's an excuse, but people don't use their best judgment when they drink," Andrian said.
"There's no question he has been humiliated and humbled by this. That's not your concern," Andrian told the jury in his closing argument.
"He has no lawful business being in that backyard," prosecutor Hunt said, "and no lawful purpose to wake someone up at 3:30 a.m. to wake someone up to have sex with her."
Hunt said Carrillo was peeking when he broke the bedroom window screen and put his hand through the window.
"He looked at what he was doing. He wasn't blindfolded. He wasn't hiding his eyes," Hunt said. "It was a full-on peek. He was trying to get through the screen and rustle the blinds to wake her up," Hunt said.
"The reasonable verdict is guilty," Hunt said.
The jury can return a verdict on either peeking or attempted peeking. The maximum sentence for peeking is six months in jail and three months for attempted peeking.
Previous stories:
Day 2 Carrillo Trial: Defense Says Dismiss This 'Peek Free' Case; Judge Says No.
Day 1 (Cont.) 'Peeking' Trial: Jane Doe 'Scared Out Of Mind' By 'Tearing' At Bedroom Window Screen.
Day 1 of 'Peeking' Trial: Jane Doe's Testimony Begins in Case Against Supervisor Carrillo.
10 Women, 2 Men on Supervisor Carrillo's 'Peeking' Jury; Trial Begins Today.
-- Bay City News
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