WOODLAND — A Yolo Superior Court judge declined Tuesday to reduce bail for the Woodland man facing involuntary manslaughter and other charges in connection with the death of his infant son two years ago.
Judge Paul Richardson cited Frank Rees’ arrest in early February for possessing methamphetamine and ammunition while accompanied by his pregnant girlfriend, who has since given birth prematurely, as a factor in his decision to keep the $500,000 bail figure intact.
“The court is of the view that putting Mr. Rees back on the streets would endanger the life of that child,” Richardson said, rejecting a bid by defense attorney Rod Beede to reduce Rees’ bail to $100,000.
Rees, 31, also pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony charges of involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and administering methamphetamine filed against him last week, all stemming from the Feb. 24, 2015, death of 19-day-old Justice Rees.
Prosecutors allege that Rees injected his then-fiancée, Samantha Green, with large amounts of methamphetamine on the morning she took Justice into Ridge Cut Slough in Knights Landing — despite knowing that Green had abused the drug during her pregnancy, that the baby tested positive for meth at birth, and that their continued custody of him required the couple to kick their drug habits.
High and enraged over Rees’ cheating with another woman, Green swam across the slough with Justice and kept him outdoors overnight, causing the baby to die of exposure. A jury convicted her of second-degree murder last fall.
Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig has not disclosed his reasons for waiting two years to prosecute Rees. The documentation in support of Rees’ bail increase has been sealed from public view.
But according to Beede, those documents include 30 pages of two-year-old police reports that “almost exclusively are the basis for the bail enhancement,” he said in court Tuesday. He also noted that the allegations against Rees involve conduct with Green, and not a “direct action” with Justice that led to his death.
Prosecutor Ryan Couzens offered a different view of Rees’ culpability.
“Mr. Rees has engaged in a pattern of dangerous conduct that in effect ended up causing the death of his child,” Couzens argued, citing Rees’ most recent drug-related arrest he said mirrors the circumstances surrounding Justice’s brief life. “His pattern of irresponsible conduct has not abated even though he has been faced with literally death.”
Green’s parents, Randy Green and Wanda Cozart, also came to court to speak in favor of Rees’ high bail.
“I’m in fear for my family’s safety, and I’m in fear for the community’s safety,” Green said. “Most of all, I’m in fear for the safety of that newborn baby. I don’t want it to end up like my grandson.”
Cozart said she is “outraged” whenever she hears Rees portray himself as a victim when “my grandson is the only victim here. … He continues to prey on young women and as a result there is yet another child born to this man caught in the crossfire.”
Watching from the rear of the courtroom was Rees’ girlfriend Brittnie Barr, who as she left the hearing said the couple’s newborn “is beautiful and healthy. She’s just small.”
Rees is due back in court March 15 for a status conference and possible scheduling of a preliminary hearing date, although Beede noted he has more than 3,000 pages of discovery and 20-plus hours of audio recordings to review related to the newly filed charges.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene