Week of June 21st 2021 - Episode 4 - Weekly News

This week there were so many news items, I decided to forgo the breakdown subject in lieu of reporting on the weeks events.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to The Breakdown with Benjamin Nowain for the week of June 21st, 2021.

This week, we have some very important things to discuss. Due to the nature and volume of these stories, there will be no breakdown subject this week.

Let’s get right into the weekly.

On Tuesday, deputies were called to the Old Shasta Post Office where recall proponent Kathy Stainbrook reported she had been slapped with an open hand by Bradley Hart just after 11 a.m. This occurred while she was gathering signatures in support of the Shasta County Supervisor recall efforts. Stainbrook, whose son Devin Ketel is an RPD officer, made the report, and within two hours, Bradley Hart was booked on misdemeanor battery charges.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only violent act this week. A quick warning: the video accompanying this next story is difficult to watch.

An anonymous video shows the parking lot of the Tropics Bar late Friday evening. In the video, a woman nudges an older man with a dog. Then, a man with a red beard grabs the older man by the head and thrashes him into a building three times, leaving him unconscious. After the attacker left the scene, a Good Samaritan performed CPR on the victim. We’ve received word that the victim, known locally as Old Man Bob, was released from the hospital and is currently at home as of Sunday evening.

The assailant has been identified by witnesses as Chris Meagher, who has ties to the Cottonwood Militia. The woman with him is Elizabeth Bailey, an employee of Carlos Zapata at the Palomino Room in Red Bluff. As of Sunday, June 27th, Chris Meagher is in custody, booked on charges of elder abuse and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. At this time, Elizabeth Bailey has not been arrested or questioned.

I want to take a moment to say that violence of any kind is unacceptable, and I’m pleased that justice was swiftly carried out for Kathy Stainbrook. However, I must point out that it has been 48 hours since the brutal attack on Bob, and two months since Red, White, and Blueprint leader and recall supporter Carlos Zapata allegedly assaulted local comedian Nathaniel Pinkney at his workplace. In that incident, Zapata allegedly threw a glass at Nathaniel so hard it shattered upon impact. Chris Meagher and Elizabeth Bailey were allegedly involved in that assault as well. Elizabeth reportedly pulled Nathaniel by his shirt, and Chris reportedly struck Nathaniel with a closed fist while wielding a nearby CO2 container in a threatening manner.

That event ultimately led to Nathaniel’s firing, and despite the evidence, neither Carlos, Chris, nor Elizabeth were charged for their actions. The case was referred to the district attorney on May 17th.

One can’t help but wonder: if Chris Meagher had been charged for his role in Nathaniel’s assault, would he have been able to commit this assault against Bob?

As a Shasta County resident, I am deeply concerned with the uneven application of the law. Bradley Hart was arrested and charged within two hours based on eyewitness accounts, giving him the opportunity to defend himself in court. That should be the bare minimum for any law-abiding citizen in Shasta County. Unfortunately, not everyone has a son in the police department.

I’m also concerned that the video evidence in Nathaniel’s case has not yet been made public. The video of Bob’s assault was only released because it was leaked. The police did release an official statement about Chris Meagher’s arrest just after midnight.

Meanwhile, the Shasta County Fair returned to the North State this year, running from Wednesday, June 23rd, through Saturday, June 26th. We received reports that Recall Shasta was soliciting signatures at the event, which they had advertised. However, according to B.J. Farland, CEO and coordinator of the Shasta County District Fair and Event Center, Recall Shasta was not authorized to be there. Recall Shasta had requested to be at the event several weeks prior and had been denied, but they showed up anyway.

The Shasta County Fairgrounds are state property, and unauthorized solicitation for recall signatures could potentially violate Title II, which prohibits using public resources for campaign activities. This raises concerns about the validity of signatures collected at the fair. If those signatures are not valid, how can they be differentiated from other signatures collected elsewhere? Could this potentially invalidate all of the signatures collected so far?

If you have concerns about the legality of Recall Shasta’s signature collection practices, I encourage you to contact the Shasta County Elections Office at 530-225-5730.

In other news, the Shasta Health Assessment and Redesign Collaborative made a public statement this week expressing their support for the three Shasta County supervisors facing recall. Among those who voted to pledge their support was David Kehoe, who lost his re-election bid to one of the current supervisors, Joe Chimenti, in 2018.

And that’s the Weekly for the week of June 21, 2021.