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E-mail StoryLawyer: Guards 'overly aggressive' in casino incident
| Monday, Nov 5 2007 9:45 PM
Last Updated: Monday, Nov 5 2007 9:51 PM
Two local lawyers arrested after a scuffle with security guards at a Santa Barbara County casino last month -- one of them a county prosecutor -- were acting in self-defense, the couple's lawyer said Monday.
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"Overly aggressive" guards caused Andrea and Gregory Kohler to defend themselves during the Oct. 20 incident, said the pair's lawyer, Greg Mitts.
The Kohlers were arrested on misdemeanor battery charges at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez. Andrea Kohler, who turns 43 Thursday, is a Kern County deputy district attorney best known for helping prosecute Bruce Sons in 2006 . Her husband, 47, is a member of Bakersfield law firm Barnes, Kohler and Monje LLP.
A report from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department says Mr. Kohler bit one of the guards in the side and Mrs. Kohler scratched one on the neck during a confrontation.
Mitts described the scenario unraveling this way.
Mr. Kohler was walking out of the casino when he kicked the automated sliding glass door temporarily off its rollers. He had put his foot out to stop the door from closing on him, Mitts said.
Whether the door-kicking was accidental or not, "the actions of the security guards were totally unjustified," Mitts said.
Some six-to-eight plain-clothes guards surrounded Mr. Kohler "rather aggressively," Mitts said, "manhandling" him.
Tempers flared, he said.
Mrs. Kohler rushed out to help her husband.
"A bouncer turned around and pushed her," Mitts said. She fell to the ground.
Mr. Kohler tried to help his wife and was taken down "rather violently" by the bouncers, Mitts said.
Mitts said he did not know if Mr. Kohler was intoxicated, as the arrest report alleges.
Mitts said he spoke with some current and former D.A. staffers who witnessed the incident and whose statements support the Kohlers' account. A group of Kern prosecutors was celebrating at the casino after attending the wedding of a colleague.
Some D.A. staffers called 911 to report the incident, Mitts said, although casino security staffers reached 911 first, he added.
The arrest report described Friday by Sgt. Erik Raney of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department also mentions the door-kicking incident.
The report alleges Mr. Kohler became confrontational with guards and backed one against a planter or pillar where the guard felt trapped.
Raney described the ensuing outcome as a "melee."
Frances Snyder, who handles media relations for the casino, referred all inquiries to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's office.
Gene Martinez, chief assistant district attorney for Santa Barbara's north county division in Santa Maria, said his office is still investigating.
There are no plans to release surveillance video while the case is being looked into, Martinez said.
The Kohlers are slated to appear in a Santa Maria courtroom Nov. 15.
Martinez said his office hopes to have charges, if any, wrapped up by then. If the case is not ready, the Kohlers' appearance will be rescheduled, he said.
If the Santa Barbara District Attorney's office files charges that lead to a conviction or plea, the incident could result in public discipline from the State Bar of California.
Patsy Cobb, deputy chief trial counsel for the state bar, said courts are required to notify the organization about any criminal conviction of a member.
The bar then conducts its own investigation, she said, which can lead to discipline.
Since criminal matters are public, such discipline -- ranging from a "reproval" saying the member did something wrong to a suspension -- is usually public, Cobb said.
Only very serious crimes lead to disbarment, she said.