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THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY

JULY 20, 2018

A supplement to the Hollister Free Lance

Hollister Recreation brightens the streets

Hollister Recreation brings color to the city

SAN BENITO MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Clouds of Color WINE P16 | FARM-TO-TABLE P17

HOLLISTER • SAN BENITO COUNTY

A New SV Media publication

Friday, July 20, 2018

sanbenito.com • Vol. 145, No. 29 • $1

Foundation announces new round of grants SAN BENITO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION AWARDS $253,000 By Barry Holtzclaw Managing Editor

➝ Foundation, 5

Barry Holtzclaw

The San Benito Community Foundation announced its annual list of recipients for its “community impact” grants, an assortment of 41 nonprofits sharing more than $253,000. The grants ranged from $1,000 to $10,000, and were announced at the local foundation’s annual grant awards dinner June 12. Nearly all of the $10,000 recipients provide a range services. Senior services were among the top recipients. The Del Mar Caregivers Resource Center, Foster Grandparents Program of San Benito County and the Golden Age Nutrition Program’s Meals on Wheels each received $10,000 for nutrition services. Youth programs also received some of the top grants. The YMCA’s San Benito Summer Day Camp, the Salvation Army’s youth programming, the Veterans Park soccer fields renovation by the Hollister Tremors, and CASA’s advocacy for foster children, each received $10,000 grants.

HEALING RELIEF Camilla Zendejas with her mother, Marisela at announcement of capture

of suspect in killing of her sister, Ariana Zendejas, shown in photo at left.

Fugitive arrested in Mexico

FBI, MEXICAN POLICE FIND SUSPECT IN 2014 KILLING OF ARIANA ZENDEJAS By Barry Holtzclaw Managing Editor

Hollister police on Friday, July 13, announced the arrest in Mexico of a suspect in the 2014 murder of Hollister teen Ariana Zendejas.

Jose Antonio Barajas, a 24-year-old former Hollister resident, was arraigned in San Benito County Court on Monday, July 16, on charges of murder, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon. Police Chief David Westrick said that Barajas, U.S. citizen, was arrested by police in Guadalajara, Mexico on Thursday, July 12, on a fugitive warrant. He was deported by Mexican authorities and flown the next morning to San

Jose, where he was immediately transferred to the San Benito County jail. He was booked on charges related to the shooting death of Zendejas on Aug. 1, 2014. The victim was 19 years old. The arrest, announced in an emotional afternoon press conference at Hollister police headquarters, came two days after Hollister detectives and the FBI were able to confirm a tip local detectives received last year about

the suspect’s location in Guadalajara. A warrant for murder and kidnapping had been in the law enforcement database since 2014. “I want to thank the Hollister police for helping us with everything,” a tearful Camilla Zendejas, 13-year-old sister of the murder victim, said a the July 13 press conference. “It’s really hard to lose someone in your life that you look up to so much. Now to find out that he is

found, it helps everything, helps everyone so much, everyone in our family.” Police said the arrest occurred without incident. It was the result of a coordinated effort of Hollister police, the FBI, ICE, U.S. Marshals, Mexican federal police and Jalisco state police that included several surveillance operations, Westrick said. The suspect was flown back to the U.S. via ➝ Zendejas, 11

Statute of limitations could be Dabo issue NO DECISION ON FATE OF CHARGES FOR MISSING $640K FROM TRUST By Barry Holtzclaw Managing Editor

Eight months after a Superior Court judge ruled that San Benito County Board of Education Trustee Mitchell Dabo violated California probate laws when he transferred more

than $640,000 from a charitable trust to his person accounts, the fate of an ongoing criminal probe could hinge on how prosecutors interpret state statute of limitations laws. San Benito County District Attorney Candice Hooper continues to decline comment on any aspect of her investigation of Dabo’s actions as trustee of the Matulich Charitable Trust. Police investigators have twice sent evidence back

to Hooper, and say they have concluded their investigation. According to documents provided by Dabo himself in a civil lawsuit brought by the San Benito County Community Foundation, the draining of nearly all funds from an $800,000 trust began in 2009 and continued after the death of Barbara Matulich of Hollister in 2012. California’s statute of limitations laws—which dictate the periods when

criminal charges can be filed—vary according to the crime, say legal experts. There is no statute of limitations, for example, for murder or other offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment, or for embezzlement of public funds. For most other crimes, the statute of limitations is six years for offenses punishable by eight or more years in prison, and three years for offenses punishable by less than eight

years, after commission of the offense. That could end any prospects for prosecution of Dabo, but state law makes an exception for any crime that includes fraud, a breach of a fiduciary obligation—such as the management of a trust—or theft or embezzlement of money from an elderly or dependent adult, In these cases, the statute of limitations ➝ Dabo, 5


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