WOODLAND — Saying he has “no reason to disregard” threatening and racially charged online statements allegedly made by the woman accused of vandalizing the Islamic Center of Davis, a Yolo Superior Court judge this afternoon denied a defense motion to reduce her $1 million bail or release her on her own recognizance.
Judge Daniel Maguire also rejected a motion by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office to deny Lauren Kirk-Coehlo bail entirely, saying while there are exceptions to a person’s constitutional right to bail, “I find that those exceptions do not apply here.”
With that, Maguire kept the $1 million amount intact and imposed specific conditions should she post bail, including GPS monitoring, refraining from possessing weapons and explosives, and prohibiting her from communicating with other Twitter users with whom she allegedly shared thoughts of killing people and obtaining weapons.
Maguire’s ruling capped a half-hour court hearing during which Kirk-Coehlo’s lawyers Steven Sabbadini and David Dratman argued that their client’s high bail amount “excessive” and “unreasonable” since she is not charged with a capital crime.
Deputy District Attorney Ryan Couzens sought a no-bail hold, contending that Kirk-Coehlo’s social media comments and other online activity make her an “extreme public safety risk.”
Kirk-Coehlo, 30, of Davis, was arrested last week on suspicion of committing the Jan. 22 vandalism in which the suspect was caught on surveillance video breaking windows, damaging bikes and wrapping raw bacon around an exterior door handle at the Russell Boulevard mosque. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of felony vandalism with a hate-crime enhancement.
Judge Samuel McAdam granted the increased bail amount in light of a Davis police detective’s declaration that Kirk-Coehlo had expressed on Twitter “dreams and aspirations … to kill many people,” used racial epithets, glorified the shooter in the mass killing at a Charleston, S.C. church and conducted online searches using terms such as “bombvest.”
Sabbadini and Dratman filed a 19-page motion this week in which they highlighted Kirk-Coehlo’s “insignificant criminal history” and lack of flight risk. They say there’s no indication her release would put others in harm’s way.
“The crimes charged are not crimes of violence or crimes involving threatened violence to a person or a group,” the motion says, also noting that the crime involved no weapons, nor were any found during a Feb. 1 search of Kirk-Coehlo’s home.
“A person’s actions are more reflective of that person’s capabilities, and in this case the defense has not been provided with any evidence that the Defendant actually sought to purchase firearms, bomb vests, ammunitions, weapons, nor has any evidence been provided that she made any plans to engage in conduct beyond that which has been charged in the complaint,” they wrote.
As for her alleged online hate speech, Sabbadini and Dratman say the Twitter quotes appearing in the police bail declaration were “cherry-picked” among more than 35,000 tweets and re-tweets, some of which are “constitutionally protected speech” that “amount to no more than anonymous internet hyperbole.”
They also assert that at least two of Kirk-Coehlo’s reported search terms were misinterpreted by authorities. “Bombvest” is the Instagram handle for a comedic entertainer, they said, while “throw Jews down the well” refers to a song parody from the Sacha Baron Cohen movie “Borat.”
Her mother, a retired administrative law judge, and father, a machinist, submitted letters pledging to seek psychiatric help for their daughter, who according to police professed having “mental problems” in texts to her mother. Her father, who lives in Woodland, has offered her a place to stay and a job at his manufacturing company.
Kirk-Coehlo’s attorneys also suggested additional conditions of release such as GPS monitoring, refraining from the use of computers and staying away from any and all mosques.
Leaders of the Davis mosque have said they oppose Kirk-Coehlo’s release, and that their members have expressed concerns for their personal safety should she be freed from jail.
