A Superior Court judge in Victorville on Friday, Feb. 9, ruled that an Upland resident and six of his followers whose aggressive advocacy for street vendors and clashes with protesters landed them in jail will continue to be held without bail.
Edin Alex Enamorado, 36, is being held at High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto on charges of kidnapping, making criminal threats, assault with a deadly weapon, being a felon in possession of a firearm, false imprisonment and conspiracy. In all, eight people were charged, but one person was granted bail because he faced lesser charges.
Judge John Wilkerson, with about 40 of Enamorado’s supporters in the courtroom, said he could not come up with conditions such as ankle monitoring that he believed would protect the public from the defendants and guarantee their appearance at trial if they were released.
Ten deputies stood guard in the courtroom, more than twice what is normally seen at murder trials.
“Are they afraid (the defendants) are terrorists?” one of the defense lawyers, Damon Alimouri, said afterward.
Enamorado’s attorney, Nicholas Rosenberg, said he plans to appeal the judge’s decision. He spoke with his client after the hearing and relayed this statement from him: “I am not surprised by today’s ruling but this continues to prove San Bernardino County is corrupt.”
His supporters have said the so-called Justice 8 are being prosecuted partly because Enamorado has taken on people in authority including Fontana Mayor Aquanetta Warren, whose city has cracked down on non-permitted vendors. He also used a bullhorn to protest outside the home of a deputy who was videotaped body-slamming a 16-year-old girl who authorities say reached for an officer’s pepper ball launcher during a melee.
Enamorado has a large following on YouTube.
San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus has said the defendants’ actions go beyond those protected by the First Amendment. He said they were responsible for assaults during protests in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties, and that they videotaped themselves threatening and humiliating their victims.
The seven other defendants are residents of Upland, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Ontario.
The next hearing is scheduled for March 1.
