News for Joseph Tully


Charges Dropped against Heidi Lepp in Marijuana Case

Charges Dropped against Heidi Lepp in Marijuana Case

- The Davis Vanguard
Heidi Lepp will not have to return to court after all. Ten days after a jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case where Ms. Lepp was charged with two felony conspiracy charges, prosecutors decided that they lacked evidence needed to obtain a conviction.
Ms. Lepp had faced felony conspiracy to cultivate and sell marijuana on the black market in violation of state laws on collectives. During closing arguments, the DA attempted to argue that Ms. Lepp had made an agreement with the...

Hung jury in reverend's trial

Hung jury in reverend's trial

Yuba County DA to decide if prosecutors should retry case against self-proclaimed Rastafarian church leader

- Appeal-Democrat
After two and a half days of deliberation, a Yuba County jury could not agree on a verdict in the marijuana conspiracy case against a Rastafarian church leader.
The five-day trial – in which prosecutors likened Heidi Lepp to a snake oil scam artist and the defense called her a holy woman who wanted to help others – ended in a hung jury Wednesday afternoon. Now, the Yuba County District Attorney’s Office will have to decide whether or not to retry the case.
Lepp was...

Closing Arguments in the Marijuana Conspiracy Case of Heidi Lepp

Closing Arguments in the Marijuana Conspiracy Case of Heidi Lepp

- The Davis Vanguard
Heidi Lepp, a Rastafarian church leader, is facing two felony conspiracy charges for allegedly running an illegal operation to cultivate and sell cannabis. If convicted she could face up to three years’ imprisonment.
These charges stem from an August 2, 2017, raid that resulted in two deputies being shot and wounded by a caretaker of a marijuana garden on property that was considered part of Ms. Lepp’s Sugarleaf Rastafarian Church. But as defense attorney Joseph Tully...

Reverend's Fate is Now in Jury’s Hands

Reverend's Fate is Now in Jury’s Hands

Rastafarian church leader could face prison term

- Appeal-Democrat
Jurors are now deliberating two felony conspiracy charges against Rastafarian church leader Heidi Lepp.
After hearing closing arguments from the prosecution and defense, jurors will now decide whether they believe Lepp is guilty of conspiring to cultivate marijuana and conspiring to sell marijuana, charges which carry a maximum of three years’ imprisonment.
The charges stem from an incident Aug. 2, 2017, when two deputies were shot and wounded by an alleged disgruntled...

Yuba County DA rests case against reverend

Yuba County DA rests case against reverend

Trial of Rastafarian church leader continues; arrested after foothills

- Appeal-Democrat
Prosecutors rested their case Wednesday against a Rastafarian church leader and the defense called an expert in medical marijuana.
After two days off, the trial against Heidi Lepp resumed Wednesday with the prosecution’s last witness, Yuba County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brandon Spear, taking the stand.
Lepp is charged with one felony count of conspiracy to cultivate marijuana and one count of felony conspiracy to sell marijuana, charges which carry a maximum of three years...

A holy woman or a scam artist?

A holy woman or a scam artist?

Trial of self-proclaimed Rastafarian reverend begins; arrested after foothill pot grow shooting

- Appeal-Democrat
Yuba County prosecutors want jurors to believe that Heidi Lepp’s Rastafarian church was a scam. The defense wants them to believe that she’s a religious woman who wanted to share the benefits of marijuana to those in need.
Lepp, 48, is charged with one felony count of conspiracy to cultivate marijuana and one count of felony conspiracy to sell marijuana, charges which carry a maximum of three years imprisonment.
On Aug. 2, 2017, two deputies were shot and wounded by an...

Latest 'Serial' Episode Proves That For Victims Of Police Brutality, The Trauma Endures

Latest 'Serial' Episode Proves That For Victims Of Police Brutality, The Trauma Endures

"How do you quantify the intangible damage a cop does when he kicks your ass?" asks host Sarah Koenig, in an episode that tackles the aftermath of Jesse Nickerson and Emirius Spencer's run-ins with police.

- Oxygen
"The Snowball Effect," the seventh episode of the newest season of “Serial,” once again focuses on allegations of corruption and violence against police in the Cleveland area.
Like the preceding episode, Jesse Nickerson, a man who was beaten by police officers in 2016, is the focus. But rather than further detailing his story, hosts Sarah Koenig and Emmanuel Dzotsi explore the trauma Nickerson experienced as a result of his run-in with the law, and draw comparisons to the case...

‘Serial’ Explains How Prosecutors Are The 'Most Powerful People In Any Courthouse'

‘Serial’ Explains How Prosecutors Are The 'Most Powerful People In Any Courthouse'

- Oxygen
The fifth episode of the new season of "Serial," aptly named "Pleas Baby Pleas," focuses on prosecutors and the plea deals they make.
“Prosecutors are the most powerful people in any courthouse,” host Sarah Koenig says. “Defense attorneys will tell you they’d rather have a fair prosecutor and an unfair judge than a fair judge and an unfair prosecutor, because of all the people who shape a criminal case the prosecutor has the most...

'Serial' Examines ‘No Snitching’ Code, Even After A Baby Has Been Shot To Death

'Serial' Examines ‘No Snitching’ Code, Even After A Baby Has Been Shot To Death

Sarah Koenig sat down with Davon Holmes and Robert "RJ" Scott –t wo witnesses to horrific crimes where children were shot to death – who maintained that they would never snitch.

- Oxygen
The fourth episode of "Serial’s" newest season, which has been focusing on examining Cleveland’s justice system, looks into a 2015 shooting death of 5-month-old Aavielle Wakefield.
She was shot while she rode in a car with her mother and other relatives after a bullet struck her in the chest; someone was shooting from outside the vehicle, and it does not appear that the baby was the intended target.
Host Sarah Koenig (pictured above) interviews Davon Holmes who was...

‘Serial’ Episode 2 Explores When Judges Cross A Line, Even Ordering Defendants To Stop Having Babies

‘Serial’ Episode 2 Explores When Judges Cross A Line, Even Ordering Defendants To Stop Having Babies

The show covers Judge Daniel Gaul, a controversial fiure in Cleveland’s Justice Center, who regularly orders defendants to stop having children.

- Oxygen
The second episode of “Serial’s” third season is entitled “You’ve Got Some Gauls,” and it primarily follows the court proceedings of Judge Daniel Gaul.
“Serial” and “This American Life” staffer Emmanuel Dzotsi sat in Gaul’s sentencing and probation proceedings for months and noted that Gaul often asks questions that could be perceived as racially prejudiced.
“Is your father in the picture?” Gaul asks one...

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