Accused Santa Rosa pig blood vandals appear in court, police say they targeted wrong house
SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- The homeowner is still on edge. This act of vandalism from April made headlines across the country because of its "intended" target, a former Santa Rosa police officer who testified for the defense in the Derek Chauvin murder trial.
None of the five defendants or their lawyers would comment on the record after the arraignment in Sonoma County Superior Court.
RELATED: Santa Rosa pig blood vandalism tied to defense witness in Chauvin trial, police say
The I-Team's Dan Noyes asked attorney Vincent Barrientos, "So, I'll call your office, okay?"
He answered, "Okay."
But a short time later, three of the defendants posted this picture to Instagram - fists in the air, with a Black Lives Matter poster, at the same location they're accused of vandalizing.
In April, just days after use of force expert Barry Brodd testified for the defense in the Derek Chauvin murder trial, his former home in Santa Rosa was splashed with pig blood; a severed pig head, left behind; and the hand statue at a nearby shopping district was doused with blood and a sign placed there, "oink oink."
RELATED: Vandals target Barry Brodd's former home after testimony in Derek Chauvin's defense
The felony complaint says 34-year-old Kristen Aumoithe purchased the pig blood from this Santa Rosa butcher, that 35-year-old Amber Lucas researched the address for Brodd's home, that 20-year-old Rowan Dalbey composed the sign, and that the three of them vandalized the hand statue.
The complaint says 26-year-old Colin Metcalfe and 23-year-old Christina Henry attacked Brodd's former home. Police tell me he hasn't lived there for more than a year, and the home's current owner is represented by Richard Freeman.
He told the I-Team, "I'm monitoring the criminal case, seeking to make sure that I understand what the ramifications of that are, and to look out for her interests to the extent that the district attorney's office and the police department can't."
Freeman tells us they're considering a lawsuit or a restraining order to help the victim feel safe again.
"She's still absolutely terrified, I mean her home was attacked in connection with something she had nothing to do with, and now she is a witness in a criminal proceeding against the people who attacked her home in the first instance."
Due to the complexity of the case, with the large number of defendants and attorneys, the volume of evidence including search warrants, surveillance videos, cell phone and computer data, the judge assigned the case to a trial court. Next hearing, September 29.
