A Davis woman was sentenced to three years of probation Wednesday in connection with a 2011 incident in which she struck her boyfriend with her car outside the man’s Woodland home.
Elena Lund-Tessler’s defense attorney, J Toney, announced the sentence in a written statement that also took aim at the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office for issuing what he called a “false press release” following his client’s September trial.
That release, Toney said, omitted Lund-Tessler’s acquittal on a felony charge as well as the boyfriend’s role as the “original aggressor” during the incident.
“While the district attorney may use press releases as a public relations tool, they have an obligation to be fair and especially not claim a conviction for conduct that resulted in a not-guilty verdict,” Toney said.
Issued on Sept. 24, the original press release reported that Lund-Tessler, 34, was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and hit-and-run causing injury for her actions in the June 4, 2011, incident, which began with an argument between the couple as they sat in Lund-Tessler’s vehicle outside the boyfriend’s home.
“The victim got out of the passenger seat and was walking to his home when Lund-Tessler drove her car over the victim’s foot, crushing it,” the news release said. “The victim’s brother heard the screeching tires and ran outside to help his brother get out of the road. He then saw Lund-Tessler drive in a circle around the cul-de-sac, drive up onto their driveway over the lawn and attempt to run down the victim. She then accelerated away from the scene.”
But according to Toney, that theory was charged in a separate count of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, for which the jury returned a not-guilty verdict. He said the press release also failed to note testimony that the boyfriend smashed a brandy bottle on the car, threw a bag of Lund-Tessler’s belongings to the pavement and pulled her hair — causing her head to hit the driver’s side window — after exiting the vehicle.
“With the boyfriend still hanging onto the car, the car’s tire ran over his foot as Lund-Tessler tried to leave,” Toney said. He also took issue with the claim that Lund-Tessler tried to “run down the victim,” noting that the car passed him at a distance of five to 10 feet.
“The boyfriend testified that she did not try to hit him, but could have had she wanted to,” Toney said. “She then left the scene and returned to her home.”
The DA’s claim that Lund-Tessler would lose her driver’s license as a result of the conviction also was untrue, Toney said, because Yolo Superior Court Judge Timothy Fall deemed her crimes to be misdemeanors at Lund-Tessler’s sentencing hearing.
“We respect Judge Fall’s decision and attorney J Toney’s zealous advocacy for his client,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven said Thursday. “However, we still believe that the defendant’s conduct was felony conduct and we stand by the facts as set forth in our Sept. 24, 2013, press release.”
Lund-Tessler may petition the court to set aside her conviction if she successfully completes her probation, Toney said.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene