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NORBURY FOUND GUILTY OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER by Tiffany Revelle
Billy M. Norbury was declared guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Jamal Andrews by a jury in Mendocino County Superior Court Monday.
Many in the audience gasped and sobbed as the verdict was read, though Judge John Behnke told the jury that the trial was not over and would instead be entering its second phase Tuesday.
“We will meet again (Tuesday) for the sanity phase of the trial at 9:30am,” Behnke said.
The jury was not polled after it returned a verdict of guilty on both counts: murder in the first-degree and the special allegation that Norbury, 34, used a gun to kill his neighbor Andrews, 30, on Jan. 24.
The defense and prosecution gave the jury stacks of evidence to consider, including testimony from nearly 40 witnesses, copious pictures, surveillance videos showing Norbury's whereabouts in the hours before the shooting and court records from Norbury's ongoing divorce proceedings, among other things.
District Attorney David Eyster went through a timeline his investigator had established that uses surveillance videos from one of two Redwood Valley bars and from a gas station and witnesses' statements to track Norbury's whereabouts as he drove an ATV around town in the hours before the shooting, from 3:58 p.m. to 9:52 p.m., when the first 9-1-1 call was made.
The timeline doesn't account for 15 minutes between 8:45 p.m., when Norbury was last seen by two witnesses at Vic's Place and when surveillance video showed him arriving at 9 p.m. at Taylor's Tavern, and leaving 42 minutes later.
“We call that an opportunity to do bad,” Eyster said of the missing 15 minutes, “an opportunity to seize the rifle ... This 15 minutes is critical because you have to ask, how did he get the gun and why did he get the gun.” Kubanis disputed the point, saying it was more likely that Norbury got agitated at Taylor's Tavern — as an interior surveillance video shows — and got the gun on his way to Andrews' house. Kubanis also argued that Norbury was very intoxicated that night and while he may have been capable of having the “intent to kill” required for second-degree murder, he wasn't capable of the premeditation and deliberation required for a first-degree murder conviction.
Now that Norbury has been convicted, Kubanis is expected to present evidence to support his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, and the jury will retire a second time to decide that matter.
In the court proceedings to date, Kubanis was trying to convince the jury that Norbury was quite drunk the night of the shooting, while Eyster has been trying to make a case that Norbury had enough of his wits about him to drive well, not stumble or appear drunk to anyone he encountered leading up to the shooting and to shoot accurately. (Courtesy, the Ukiah Daily Journal)
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THE MUCH DISCUSSED RELEASE of the Boy Scouts perv files sent locals running to the on-line Scout archive in search Mendocino County references. There was (of course) a Ukiah guy who has since disappeared and an even more intriguing account of an AWOL soldier named William Charles Garaux who put down in the Anderson Valley in 1969.
IN MAY OF 1969, Garaux, under the alias of William Francis Elton, was apparently staying with a certain Van Jones of Philo. Garaux also functioned as an assistant scoutmaster for Anderson Valley's Boy Scout Troop 51, an odd bit of community volunteerism for a guy on the run from the Army.
BUT GARAUX was not sexually interested in boys. It was the underage girls that got him memorialized in the Scout's perv archive where he's commemorated as a sort of adjunct perv, but not for anything he did under the auspices of the Scouts.
ONE DAY in May of 1969, Garaux picked up three underage girls from the campus of Anderson Valley High School, drove them to the Jones residence in Philo where he probably attempted, as they said in more chaste times, “to have his way with them.” Well, there was certainly the suspicion of that and, according to the Press Democrat of the day, drugs were also subsequently found at the Jones home, reinforcing the overall impression of Serious Sin in the Anderson Valley where, in 1969, the Manson Family had only just introduced Valley youth to marijuana.
GARAUX, described as 5'5” and 165 pounds, blonde hair, was soon under investigation for corrupting eminently corruptible Boonville maidens. He fled, and has never again appeared in Anderson Valley. That we know of. In Mendocino County it's entirely possible he simply re-branded himself as Linda Thompson and is now working as Public Defender.
WE REMAIN curious about the guy, and curious about the three wild girls, listed as a 13-year-old and two 14-year-olds. The would-be floozies would be 50 now, matrons, perhaps members of the Unity Club, gearing up to vote for Romney and, as the Republicans like to say, “old fashioned values.” And who was Van Jones? How did Garaux come to be a resident of the Jones home?
WHENEVER Anderson Valley's colorful past is the subject of inquiry the first thing that becomes clear is how transient a place it has been, seemingly more transient than most places in our transient country. The sociology of the place has fully changed three times since I arrived in 1970.
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JACQUELINE AUDET, 22, aka Goldilocks, aka Pixie, was arrested on the Mendocino Headlands last Thursday (October 18th) for public intoxication, illegal camping and for violation of the probation she was already on for public intoxication. She was accompanied by Donald Jordan, 49, of Willits. Jordan was also arrested for public intoxication and illegal camping. The guy's obviously a romantic. “Hey, Pix, lets have a couple of drinks and watch the sun set in the Pacific.” Pixie, swooning, “Oh Donny, you sure know how to show a girl a good time!” Ten quarts of vodka and three sunsets later Pix and Lover Boy are in handcuffs and on their way over the hill to the County Jail.
MS. AUDET, a drop-fall inebriate, was so drunk that when the State Parks ranger took her into custody she became incontinent. We have discovered that Ms. Audet was born in Boone, North Carolina, and seems to have been raised in the Big Bend area of Shasta County. Her mother is Pamela Audet. We couldn't find any information about her father, and we don't know if mother and child remain in contact. Ms. Audet came to our attention three years ago when a caller, worried about her welfare, asked us to draw attention to Ms. Audet's self-destructive behavior with a view to perhaps getting her some help. If there is help for determined drunks. They either decide on their own to stop or they die. We hope this kid can be held long enough in the County Jail to come to her senses, if she's got senses left to come to. At the time of Thursday's arrest, she was on probation out of Ten Mile Court for public intoxication, which should be the pretext for keeping her in custody beyond the usual weekend. At 4'11” and 97 pounds, apart from her drinking and the company she keeps, Ms. Audet poses a definite hazard to herself.
MISS AUDET has written to us requesting that we butt out of her life, but we aren't going to butt out until she either shapes up or.... We don't want to see 'or,” and we want Miss Audet to know that we find a young person doing this to herself deeply offensive, a sin against life.
MISS AUDET wrote from the County Jail last May where she was briefly incarcerated for the umpteenth time for drunk in public: “Dear People of Concern and Interest, God Bless you all! We all live our lives according to what we've learned and picked up throughout it all. For me I have a kinda rebellious manner, with the only wish to live off the land and my group of close friends and family, outside of this too populated and corrupt system. If I could share anything of importance to anyone it would be about love and goodness through the Christ and Great Spirit or whatever you may believe in; it is the love and forgiveness that we've been given that I'm proud to know in myself and proud to see it throughout this community. I've lived here for the winter and living here and experiencing the good and the bad is what I needed to learn and keep myself strong to continue on in my life as I leave and continue on in my journey that God has given me. Many people help me out every day with money or food or even concern. Thank you. I can't offer the same, but I would love to give you encouragement. I encourage everyone throughout the good and bad. Everything happens for reasons in life and I pray for you to learn and get stronger through these things. Don't let the world break you down. Thank you Great Spirit for another day to be with you. — Jacqueline Audet (Pixie), Mendocino County Jail, Ukiah.”
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Fort Bragg Republican Election Headquarters Opens
Mendocino County Republicans have opened an Election Headquarters in Fort Bragg at 247 N. Main Street, #1. The Headquarters will be open 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Monday — Saturday through Tuesday, November 6th. In addition to election information materials, the movie “2016 Obama’s America” will be shown each day at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM at no charge. For further information contact Stan Anderson, 707-321-2592.
WENDY ROWE Returns As: Celtica!
Better known in the Valley as a market gardener and Peachland Road hermit than as a “rockstar,” Wendy Rowe has spent much of the past three years on the road in Europe performing with the band Celtica. This unique Celtic rock band has quickly developed a cult following at festivals in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria. With four Austrian members living in Vienna, the famous “city of music” is the home base for the band between performances. Bagpipers Wendy from Boonville and Duncan Knight from Edinburgh, Scotland travel to Vienna each spring to spend the summer months touring with the band.
On Friday October 26th at 9pm, Celtica will play for the first time in California. Where? Right here in downtown Boonville, at Lauren's Restaurant. Thanks to a private event in Napa flying the band over from Europe for a few days, Wendy grabbed the chance to perform in her hometown on short notice. Don't miss this opportunity to see Celtica live in concert! Advance tickets available for $10 at Boont Berry or $15 at the door. Kids get in free. For more info check out the band website at www.celticarocks.com or call Wendy at (707) 621-3363.
A 19-YEAR OLD Santa Rosa man remained in the Mendocino County jail Thursday after a high-speed chase Wednesday on Highway 101. Matthew Thomas Fudge was arrested on suspicion of felony evasion of officers. The CHP said Fudge drove into oncoming traffic during the pursuit but had not hit any vehicles. The chase began at 2:40pm when a CHP officer observed Fudge driving a blue Chevy pickup at speeds of up to 90 mph northbound Highway 101 near Ukiah. When the officer attempted to stop the truck, the driver accelerated, exceeding 100 mph, the CHP said. The driver evaded a spike strip and continued through Willits, where officers gave up the chase for public safety reasons. Fudge was spotted north of Willits by Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies and Willits police. He was stopped and taken into custody. Fudge did not explain his potentially lethal behavior.
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