Prosecution, defense discuss options in electronic peeping case

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

By ANNIKA BAHNSEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

Two firefighters were struck by a minivan at approximately 5:20 a.m. Thursday, while they were addressing a minor injury vehicle accident on the side of Highway 101 and State Route 1 interchange near Gaviota.

The firefighters were originally addressing a vehicle that rolled over on the southbound side of Highway 101.

As they were assisting the first party alongside California High Patrol officers, the driver of a minivan — a 2016 Nissan Quest — lost control on the highway due to the wet conditions of the rain and swerved toward the first responders. The minivan struck two of the firefighters, then continued onto the dirt shoulder and overturned, according to CHP Officer M. Griffith.

The collision led to the closure of southbound Highway 101 until 12:30 p.m. in the Buellton and Gaviota area.

Due to the closure, southbound State Route 154 — the alternative to Highway 101 — experienced major backups and delays from State Street past the Salvar Road overpass for most of the morning and early afternoon.

There was a total of seven people injured in the early morning collision: two firefighters with major injuries, one CHP officer with minor injuries and four additional patients with minor injuries, said Capt. Scott Safechuck, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

The details were later confirmed by the CHP.

The patients with minor injuries included the driver and three passengers in the Nissan Quest. They were taken to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa

Maria.

The firefighters involved were a captain and an engineer, both with the county fire department. They were immediately transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, one by ambulance and one by helicopter.

As of 8:18 a.m., they were awake and talking, Capt. Safechuck said. Then around 2 p.m., Capt. Safechuck announced the captain was in stable condition and that the engineer was now back home.

The CHP officer with minor injuries was transported to Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital in Solvang. The collision is now under investigation by the CHP. email: abahnsen@newspress.com

The prosecution and defense in the case of a man charged with 26 counts of unlawful electronic peeping are discussing possible resolutions to the case that would avoid the need for the case going to trial, prosecutors said.

The defendant, Justin Asinobi, appeared in court Wednesday, but the case was continued to May 3, Deputy District Attorney Dalia Granados said.

“Defense is reviewing the discovery, and we are discussing possible resolutions,” she told the News-Press. “No trial has been set yet.”

Mr. Asinobi, 23, pleaded not guilty to the charges, all misdemeanors, at his arraignment. Prosecutors say if the case goes to trial and he is convicted, Mr. Asinobi could get up to six months in Santa Barbara County Jail for each count.

The defendant has been charged with unlawful electronic peeping between Oct. 1, 2021 and Feb. 15, 2022.

The complaint filed against him alleges that he “willfully and unlawfully used a concealed camcorder, motion picture camera or photographic camera to secretly videotape, film, photograph or record by electronic means another identifiable person, or through the clothing worn by that other person, for the purpose of viewing the body or undergarments worn by that other person, without that person’s knowledge or consent.”

A case involving electronic peeping was initially reported in 2022, and as a result, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office conducted an almost yearlong investigation into the allegations.

As a result of that investigation, the District Attorney’s Office charged Mr. Asinobi, alleging he placed hidden cameras in places where persons had a reasonable expectation of privacy.

“What I can tell you at this point is that there are multiple victims and there were multiple devices hidden in private homes,” Prosecutor Granados said. email: nhartsteinnewspress@ gmail.com

A search warrant signed on Feb. 23, 2022 permitted the search of devices belonging to Mr. Asinobi in which the alleged recordings were located, the complaint said. After viewing the secret recordings, law enforcement officers were able to identify 12 of the people depicted in the recordings, and although an additional 14 were visible, they have not been identified yet, prosecutors said.

In a move to protect the confidentiality of those alleged victims who were identified, counts 1 through 12 in the complaint lists them only by their initials. In counts 13 through 26 pertaining to alleged victims who remain unidentified, all but four are listed as Jane Doe. The final four are listed as John Doe.

The defendant was released from custody after a judge approved his motion for pretrial supervised release despite objections voiced by prosecutors.

The judge based his ruling on the defendant’s lack of criminal history, age and no new law violations being picked up in the last year.

Pretrial supervised release means that Mr. Asinobi was released with supervision by probation under certain terms and conditions. Probation has a pretrial unit that is assigned to be responsible for supervising the defendant, the prosecutor said.

The terms and conditions of his release are: no contact with all victims, stay away from Isla Vista, GPS monitoring, reside with his parents, a curfew of not being able to leave his home before 7 a.m. and being home by 10 p.m., no electronics/recording devices except for accessing his father’s computer for the purposes of school and medical reasons, and a cellphone with the condition of only using it to call his parents and for medical purposes.

AG Bonta files emergency motion to keep gun restrictions in place

By RIA ROEBUCK JOSEPH THE

Center Square Contributor

(The Center Square)California Attorney General

Rob Bonta filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit yesterday to immediately stop parts of a court order that blocks the enforcement of certain provisions of the Unsafe Handgun Act.

With families in Tennessee still reeling from a school shooting that left 3 nineyear-olds and 3 school employees dead yesterday, the appeal comes at a sensitive time.

“California’s common sense gun safety laws save lives, and the Unsafe Handgun Act (UHA) is no exception,” said Mr. Bonta.

A preliminary injunction by the Central District of California struck down the UHA requirements for a chamber load indicator on semi automatic pistols, and a magazine disconnect mechanism that prevents the pistol from firing when the magazine is not inserted.

Since the UHA was enacted in 2021, the provisions for these features were added to the law along with a microstamping requirement.

If granted, the emergency motion to partially stay the preliminary injunction, would halt portions of the Central District of California’s order striking down the UHA’s requirements. If the motion is not granted, firearm dealers would be allowed to sell additional models of semiautomatic pistols beyond the 32 approved models.

The UHA provisions in question are primarily preventative for unintended and self inflicted shootings. The AG’s concern is that with the injunction, gun manufacturers will seek to expand the proportion of firearms available on the market that do not have the additional UHA mandated features.

“Accidental shootings are preventable. The fact that children under five are the most likely victims makes these accidental gun deaths even more tragic and inexcusable,” Mr. Bonta said. Research by IHME shows the United States as an outlier, set apart from other high-income countries and territories in a gun violence study. The study states, “Since 1999, the share of all childhood deaths caused by gun violence in the US has increased by about 0.5%, with the largest portion consistently due to physical violence, followed by suicide, and the smallest share caused by unintentional firearm injuries.”

Between 2014 and 2018, accidental deaths in California decreased by two thirds after the new gun safety requirements when chamber load indicators and magazine disconnect mechanisms were required. California has stringent gun laws which Mr. Bonta credits for the state’s directional shift in gun-related deaths.

As weapons become faster, more powerful, and more deadly, this risk only increases. Flooding the marketplace with unsafe semi automatic pistols that do not meet necessary safety requirements poses a serious threat to public health and safety, especially for children and young adults,” Mr. Bonta said.

Death Notices

DZAMBA, Arlene, 90, of Buellton. Died March 14 in Santa Barbara. A graveside funeral service will take place at 2 p.m. Friday at Oak Hill Cemetery in Ballard. A reception will follow the service. Loper Funeral Chapel is handling the arrangements.