Defense attorney in road rage case claims allegations that his
client pointed a gun at a fellow motorist on the highway are
racially motivated
Hollister – Allegations that a retired Monterey Sheriff’s Deputy pointed a loaded firearm at a motorist on Highway 156 in San Juan Bautista are racially motivated, the former law enforcement officer’s attorney said.
Hilton Dyar, 64, of Seaside, pleaded not guilty to charges of felony assault with a firearm and misdemeanor exhibiting a firearm. Dyar was arrested on suspicion of pointing a loaded pistol at a female driver in a fit of road rage. His attorney, Kurt Robinson, said Dyar never pointed a gun at anyone.
“I think her allegations are racially motivated,” Robinson said last Friday before his client’s preliminary examination hearing.
The alleged victim, Neva Vasquez, called 911 from her cell phone and gave a description of the suspect and his vehicle. Police pulled Dyar over on Highway 156 in San Juan Bautista and found a loaded H&K 9mm pistol behind the driver’s seat. Vasquez told police that Dyar had been tailgating her, pulled up along side her and pointed a black gun at her.
During the hour-long preliminary hearing Friday, Robinson repeatedly questioned Vasquez about her conversation with the 911 dispatcher, during which she called Dyar, who is black, a “monkey” several times. Robinson also played a tape of the 911 call in court.
When Robinson asked her what she meant by that comment, Vasquez said she “didn’t know.” He also asked Vasquez, who was visibly ruffled by the line of questioning, what she meant when she told the 911 dispatch officer “these monkeys are out of control.”
“I suppose that having a gun pointed at me, I thought that some people were out of control,” Vasquez said on the witness stand. “I was scared and angry.”
Deputy District Attorney Stephen Wagner, who is prosecuting the case, also questioned Vasquez and had her identify the gun she said was pointed at her in court. He also asked her several questions about Dyar’s car and her line of sight into the vehicle. She testified that although the car had tinted windows, she could clearly see the gun.
After Vasquez, Dyar’s wife Elizabeth – who was in the car at the time of the incident – took the stand defending her husband. She testified that Dyar always carried a pistol, but never pointed it at Vasquez and that the gun could not be reached by Dyar from it’s location under the driver’s seat. Elizabeth Dyar said she remembered the incident clearly because Vasquez had cut their car off and braked several times, aggravating her back injury.
District Attorney John Sarsfield said he did not have an opinion on Robinson’s claims of racism, but said the case against Dyar was solid.
“A gun, matching the victim’s description, was found in the car,” Sarsfield said. “The chances of her just guessing that are astronomical.”
Dyar is the first person to be prosecuted under Sarsfield’s zero-tolerance policy, which he instated last year following a rash of gang-related shootings. The policy prohibits those accused of gun or gang-related crimes from striking plea bargains and is aimed at curbing those types of offenses.
“We don’t plea gun cases,” Sarsfield said. “That goes for everyone.”
The preliminary hearing will resume March 29 at 1:30pm. If Superior Court Judge Steve Sanders decides that the district attorney has enough evidence to go forward, the case will go to trial. If convicted, Dyar faces up to 19 years in prison.
