LAKEPORT, Calif. – A man who last year rammed a vehicle into a Clearlake Police officer is facing a lengthy prison term after a jury convicted him on five of the six counts against him in a trial that concluded last week.
The jury handed down the verdict in the case of Daniel Alan York, 54, of Clearlake on Thursday, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe.
Grothe said the jury convicted York of five felonies: assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest, hit and run causing injury, vandalism and auto theft with a prior conviction, plus the jury found true special allegations of great bodily injury on all of those five counts.
The jury deadlocked on the first and most serious count, attempted murder. Grothe said he later dismissed that charge.
York's defense attorney, Barry Melton, declined comment, saying it would be inappropriate considering the fact that York is not to be sentenced until Oct. 20.
On the morning of Sept. 22, 2013, York rammed an SUV into Clearlake Police Officer Tom Riley, who had pulled York over at Redbud Park. York at the time had an outstanding arrest warrant.
York put the stolen SUV he was driving into reverse and slammed into Riley, who was pinned up against a Ford pickup.
Riley had to be flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of serious injuries, which included broken ribs, a fractured spine, and head and neck lacerations, according to the police report on the incident.
York fled the scene and police later found the abandoned SUV. About four hours after the incident, officers located York at a West 40th Avenue residence, where a police K9 was used to take him into custody after he attempted to evade police.
The jury began deliberations on the morning of Friday, Sept. 5, and due to court scheduling didn't return to continue deliberations until this past Thursday, Grothe said.
At about 11 a.m. Thursday, the jurors sent out word that they had verdicts on five of the six counts, Grothe said. After it was determined they had deadlocked on the attempted murder charge, Grothe dismissed that count.
After the jury gave its verdict, it was reported in the court that York made an obscene hand gesture toward the jurors, Grothe said.
York has a lengthy criminal record over the last three decades, with convictions on charges related to drugs, weapons, vehicle theft and other charges in Lake, Nevada and Sonoma counties, according to court records.
Grothe said Judge Andrew Blum found that York had three prior serious or violent felonies and seven prior prison terms.
The case was extraordinarily well investigated, said Grothe. “I really had a lot to work with on evidence.”
That included thorough crime scene diagrams provided by the California Highway Patrol and the extensive work by Clearlake Police and District Attorney's Office investigators, Grothe said.
He said the investigators even went to the Taylor Observatory to find an expert to talk about the phase of the moon and where it would have been on the horizon, which had bearing on the case due to the incident occurring at around 4:30 a.m. that day.
Altogether, the investigators did “a hell of a job,” Grothe said.
Melton also did “a very businesslike job” on the case, according to Grothe.
Grothe said York will return to court on Oct. 20 at 1:30 p.m. for sentencing before Judge Blum.
While Grothe did not offer an exact estimate of how long York faces in prison, he said it will be lengthy due to the seriousness of the charges and York's past convictions.
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Jury convicts man of several charges for ramming, injuring police officer with SUV
- Elizabeth Larson
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