171
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Volume 171 • Issue 35 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
– E s t. 18 51
DUI arrests up in EDH Sel Richard Staff writer
Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
Bradley Popejoy sits in El Dorado County Superior Court March 17. The defendant is accused of brandishing a firearm in a threatening manner at three teenage girls in front of his Placerville home.
Self-defense or threatening?
Placerville man on trial accused of brandishing Eric Jaramishian Staff writer A Placerville man is on trial, charged with brandishing a semi-automatic shotgun at three teenage girls in front of his home, an incident that occurred in August 2020. The El Dorado County District Attorney’s office filed charges against Bradley Popejoy, claiming he violated Penal Code 417, which states that brandishing a firearm in a “rude, threatening or angry manner” is punishable by a maximum of a year in county jail, a $1,000 fine or a combination of both, unless in self-defense. Leading the prosecution in his trial that started March 16 in El Dorado County Superior Court Department 2 was Deputy District Attorney Jay Linden. During opening statements Linden argued Popejoy’s actions were not in self-defense. “He got angry and took it too far,” Linden said. “There are three elements to this offense — that the defendant exhibited a firearm, when he did so it was rude, angry or threatening and that he was not acting in self-defense.”
The three teenagers who were referred to as A.J., N.T. and V.R., drove to Boa Vista Orchard in Camino at 5 p.m. Aug. 29 for a picnic, according to Linden. The prosecutor said the three chose to avoid the freeway due to Apple Hill traffic, ending up on Mosquito Road for traveling. The driver, A.J., had a Black Lives Matter sign put up in the back of her silver Audi A4 in support of the movement. While traveling home, they passed Popejoy’s home on Mosquito Road, which had American and Trump flags up along its fence. Annette Popejoy, Bradley’s wife, was outside when obscene gestures were exchanged between one of the girls and herself, said the defendant’s attorney Dale Gomes. The teens were recording video at the time. During her testimony A.J., identified as Abegale Jones, revealed her friend V.R. flipped off Annette first in reaction to the flags. Jones said she originally thought Annette initiated the exchange. Jones was 17 during the time of the incident. No verbal or physical threats were made, according to n
See Trial, page A3
DUI arrests have shown a concerning trend, relayed California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Brown at this month’s El Dorado Hills Community Council meeting. “For District 1, or the general El Dorado Hills area, we conducted 18 arrests in the month of February, 10 of which were DUI and five of those were DUI crashes,” he reported. “To give some perspective, over 40% of all our arrests happened in that area.” The remaining arrests were spread over El Dorado County’s West Slope from Twin Bridges west to the Sacramento county line, north to Placer County and south to Amador County. Additionally, more than 40% of all DUI crashes happened in El Dorado Hills. However, Brown noted, the 23 crash investigations in El Dorado Hills comprise only approximately 25% of all crashes in the area, a disproportionate number. “We can only arrest so many people; we can only take so many people to jail,” Brown declared, going on to point out the financial burden DUI accidents create for police agencies, hospitals and county staff. “It’s not a victimless crime. People die daily from it. Every 2 minutes somebody is injured from a DUI crash in the United States … We’re talking about 11,000 people dying in this country every year from DUI.” Brown assured that the highway patrol is taking steps toward enhanced enforcement and arrests. “We just want to encourage everyone to please drive sober,” he urged, noting that the county was awarded a special grant to help curb DUI crashes. In addition, he cited that many of the DUI crashes have involved extremely high blood alcohol levels, upward of .20%. “That is years if not decades of practice, building up that sort of tolerance to be able to think, even consider getting behind the wheel with those blood alcohol levels,” Brown continued, warning against drug use as well. “It is not worth the risk. It’s not just alcohol. Drugs, if they impair you, you will be pulled over; you will be put in jail.”
El Dorado fastest on Mammoth Mountain Thomas Frey Staff writer El Dorado County high school skiers and snowboarders sped onto the winners podium at the 2022 California-Nevada Interscholastic Ski and PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
Snowboard Federation championships at Mammoth Mountain earlier this month. El Dorado High School won the state championship while Oak Ridge finished right behind in second and Ponderosa took 11th. The Cougars had Carlie Chandler, Kindall Henderson, Ashlynn Hayman, Myles Stowe, Markus HirsbrunnerReist, Henry Soetaert, Brandon Gutierrez, Owen Phillips and Carter Sornborger all record top-10 finishes in their respective events. “It was very exciting to hear that news,” Stowe said on winning as a team. “That’s what my coaches have been fighting for and it’s a team sport overall so it was nice knowing that we worked together and
Courtesy photo
See State title, page A6
El Dorado High School won the 2022 CNISSF state championship in Mammoth March 7-10 with strong finishes in all four disciplines. Oak Ridge took second.
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