Virginia Democrats concede control
Marvel succeeds with ‘Eternals’
Republicans get the majority in the state House, Dems keep the state Senate - A3
Review: Movie makes cosmic concepts more down to Earth. Box Office: Film soars to No. 1 with $71M gross in today’s entertainment-themed Life section - B1-2
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T U E SDAY, NOV E M BE R 9, 2 021
Homemade silencer emphasized in Haobsh trial
Borders reopen for foreign tourists Santa Barbara ready to welcome back international visitors By FORREST MCFARLAND NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Santa Barbara is preparing for an exciting holiday season with the return of international visitors. The U.S. fully opened its borders Monday after more than a year and a half, allowing nonessential travel to the states. Vaccinated tourists from the likes of Mexico, Canada and Europe are now able to enter the country by land or by air. International visitors traveling by air are required to be fully vaccinated and have a negative COVID-19 test while anyone crossing land borders must only show proof of vaccination. Airlines are increasing flights, predicting an influx of travel as the travel ban relaxes. According to the traveling data source Cirium, flights between the U.S. and Britain are predicted to increase 21% this month. In anticipation of Monday’s
announcement, Kathy JanegaDykes, president and CEO of Visit Santa Barbara, told the News-Press she and her team prepared for the non-native guests this holiday season. “Visit Santa Barbara has been attending international trade shows and promoting our city to a few key international media targets in preparation for this month’s announcement,” Mrs. Janega-Dykes said Monday. The percentage of international visitors fell from about 15% to less than one percent, Mrs. Janega-Dykes told the News-Press. So, though a massive influx of people is not expected, the lifted restrictions will, “allow a slow improvement for key international markets.” Though the impact of COVID19 on hospitality industries is obvious, Mrs. Janega-Dykes maintains that tourism in Santa Barbara County is still strong. “Even with the loss of nearly all Please see TOURISM on A4
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
Businesses on State Street, such as Joe’s Cafe, can now again see tourists from foreign countries with Monday’s lifting of travel restrictions.
State’s law enforcement resists vaccine mandates
NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
By MADISON HIRNEISEN
Pierre Haobsh is arraigned May 5, 2016. He was arrested March 25, 2016, for the murder of Chinese herbalist Dr. Dr. Weidong “Henry” Han, 57; wife, Huijie “Jennie” Yu, 29; and 5-year-old daughter, Emily Han.
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Public defender Michael Hanley made prosecutors snap upright at a request during Monday’s proceedings in the trial of Pierre Haobsh. Mr. Hanley wanted a witness to unseal the suspected murder weapon and attempt to attach it to a hex nut of an apparent homemade silencer. Prosecutor Hilary Dozer immediately objected, saying he didn’t want evidence manipulated. “This may be an ‘If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit’ moment, but I’m not comfortable,” he said. Judge Brian Hill disagreed with conducting “an experiment in open court,” so Mr. Hanley had the witness David Barber, assistant lab director of the California Department of Justice’s Santa Barbara lab, make a visual assessment. Mr. Barber determined the length of the hex nut and the muzzle of the gun, a Ruger 22/45 Lite, were identical. The threading were both fine and
were similar if not a match, he said. The gun was recovered in a bag inside the wheel well of Mr. Haobsh’s car. Two 10-round magazines, bullets matching those found at the crime scene and what appears to be a homemade silencer or suppressor were stored with the Ruger semi-automatic pistol. Mr. Barber inspected the evidence he testified looked like a homemade silencer or suppressor, a device that attaches to the muzzle of a gun to slowly release the ammunition’s gases. Mr. Barber didn’t test the pipe’s ability as a suppressor for two reasons: he first needed to determine if ammunition had been fired inside it, and the device didn’t look safe. He looked inside, and the device’s internal tube wasn’t completely parallel to the external pipe. He determined a bullet could become trapped inside. He cut open the copper pipe to expose all the components: a slotted inside tube, rusty steel
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scene in the steel wool. Another lab confirmed the pieces as bullet fragments. Another gun was recovered from Mr. Haobsh’s vehicle, a 9mm glock. Mr. Barber said the silencer would not fit that size ammunition. He also testified that cartridges found at the Han home were identifiable to the Ruger gun. Three such shell casings were collected from the plastic that surrounded Jennie Yu’s body. Mr. Barber looked at “class characteristics” that any Ruger 22/45 Lite would leave on the casings. Then, he magnified the casings and compared them against casings he shot from the gun. He found “excellent agreement” of consecutive matching striae, parallel strokes the gun leaves that are as unique as a serial number. Detectives also sent Mr. Barber a 22-caliber cartridge found in a cooler in the passenger seat of Mr. Haobsh’s car. The cartridge was discovered alongside a 9mm Please see HAOBSH on A4
(The Center Square) – Several law enforcement agencies across California are pushing back against vaccine mandates, claiming that the requirement will impact public safety due to staffing shortages. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva held a press conference at the Hall of Justice building last week, where he claimed that enforcing the county’s mandate requiring their workers to be fully vaccinated would cause an “imminent threat to public safety.” The sheriff told reporters last week that currently, 4,185 people employed by the sheriff’s department are at risk of termination if they do not comply with the mandate — 3,137 of whom are sworn officers. The sheriff has publicly defied the county’s mandate for weeks, and in a statement on social media Oct. 28, claimed the vaccine mandate is causing a “mass exodus” from his department. He claimed that the
associated staffing shortages would lead to slower response times, fewer arrests and the closure of patrol stations during a time when homicides are up 44% and aggravated assaults are up 23%. “I have repeatedly stated the dangers to public safety when 20%-30% of my workforce is no longer available to provide service, and those dangers are quickly becoming a reality,” Sheriff Villanueva said. According to an executive order ratified by Los Angeles County in August, all county employees were required to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 1. Those who have not done so were told to be fully vaccinated within 45 days or risk a five-day suspension. Employees will then have 30 days to comply with the order or face termination, county officials said. During last week’s press conference, Sheriff Villanueva reported that 51.7% of the department’s personnel are fully vaccinated, including himself, and 1.7% are partially vaccinated. The department is Please see MANDATES on A4
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wool, a rubber-like material, hex couplings and the hex nut. He said the device’s design was consistent with a silencer. He never attempted to screw the hex nut, which was located at one end of the silencer, onto the gun. So, Mr. Hanley wondered if it even fit. Judge Hill asked, considering other evidence, why it mattered. Mr. Hanley replied that the coroner reported during the preliminary hearing that Emily, Dr. Han’s daughter, was killed by a “contact shot.” A lack of gunpowder around the wound indicated a silencer must’ve been used. Mr. Barber testified the silencer found in Mr. Haobsh’s trunk must’ve been used because it sustained damage from the inside out. The silencer’s tube protrudes near the point the device would be attached to the gun, and there is a hole with tears in the rubber at the far end. He discovered bullet fragments with distinctive characteristics like those found at the crime
THE CENTER SQUARE STAFF REPORTER
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