The son of Charles Richard Handley, a 79-year-old man accused of
two counts of attempted murder, took the witness stand Friday and
described the
”
bad dream
”
day of his father’s arrest.
Gilroy – The son of Charles Richard Handley, a 79-year-old man accused of two counts of attempted murder, took the witness stand Friday and described the “bad dream” day of his father’s arrest. Attorneys parsed the tear-evoking testimony for nuggets that would bolster arguments as to whether some of the elder Handley’s possessions can be used as evidence against him.
“It’s just a day that never ended,” son Clifford Handley said.
The case stems from an April 26 incident, when Charles Handley shot twice at daughter-in-law Lynda Handley and her new lover, Lynn Ryle, outside Ryle’s Festa Aglio Court home, police said. He missed both times and Lynda Handley wrestled him to the ground, witnesses said. During the struggle, the weapon fired and the bullet hit her in the right thigh.
Letters and e-mails seized by police from the Handley home in San Jose show Charles Handley was infatuated with Lynda Handley, who was in the middle of divorce proceedings from Charles Handley’s son, Clifford Handley, after about 20 years of marriage.
Charles Handley appeared for the fourth time at the South County Courthouse in San Martin in front of a small group of family members for Friday’s preliminary hearing that included a motion to suppress evidence. The defense was looking to exclude a packet of papers and the contents of a computer that Gilroy police collected from Handley’s room at his son’s house in San Jose. These papers include $1,500 in $100 bills and a suicide note that read, “By the time you read this you will know what has taken place. This will solve some of your problems.”
Police seized the evidence after Charles Handley signed a consent form. However, he signed it after he invoked his right to an attorney but before he was assigned an attorney.
Defense attorney Victor Vertner is looking to exclude the evidence based on the argument that this process violated his Miranda rights. In addition, the defense is looking to exclude the letters because their seizure was not specifically mentioned in the consent form.
Detective Rosa Quiñones, however, said Charles Handley had no objections to any part of the search.
“Go ahead, there’s nothing incriminating there,” he said to her, she claimed on the stand Friday.
Testimony from Gilroy Detective Stan Devlin and Clifford Handley painted conflicting pictures of the scene at the Handley house after the incident. Devlin claimed he seized the father’s possessions, while Clifford Handley, who choked up several times during his testimony, was certain he was the one who took them out of his father’s room.
Regardless of who picked up the envelope, the search process was legal, Deputy District Attorney Amir Alem said. Even if the evidence is excluded, the state will be able to establish premeditation based on the fact that Charles Handley drove to Gilroy about 5:30am with a handgun and have witnesses to attest to the shooting, he said.
The preliminary hearing and motion to suppress will continue at 9am Dec. 6.
