Downtown Santa Rosa homeless murder reversed on appeal

A state appeals court on Wednesday reversed the first-degree murder conviction of a Santa Rosa homeless man on grounds his lawyers were not allowed to present expert testimony about transients’ heightened sensitivity to threats of violence, thereby limiting his self-defense claim.

The ruling could lead to a new trial for Vladimir Sotelo-Urena, 34, who was convicted of the Christmas Eve 2013 stabbing death of another homeless man, Nicholas Bloom, 22, outside the downtown Santa Rosa library.

It underscores the idea that homeless people are more often the victims of violent crime and sets legal precedent about the use of expert witnesses to describe issues that may be deemed common knowledge.

In their ruling, the justices cited other cases of statewide homeless violence, including the killing earlier this year of Josh Clark in a downtown Santa Rosa park.

“It’s dangerous being homeless,” said Kathleen Pozzi, Sonoma County public defender, whose office represented Sotelo-Urena at trial. “They have a sense of victimization that people who are sheltered don’t know about.”

District Attorney Jill Ravitch said Wednesday she and state prosecutors were reviewing the ruling to decide whether to appeal.

Sotelo-Urena, originally from Las Vegas, had been living on the streets of Santa Rosa for about six months and had himself been a victim of a stabbing about a week earlier when he was approached by Bloom, who was high on methamphetamine, behind the library.

Bloom asked Sotelo-Urena for a cigarette and became belligerent, acting as if he wanted to fight, when Sotelo-Urena did not immediately answer, the defendant testified.

Mistaking him for a man who had previously attacked him and thinking Bloom was reaching for a weapon, Sotelo-Urena pulled a ?10-inch kitchen knife he had bought for his own protection. After a brief exchange, Sotelo-Urena lunged at Bloom, pursuing him about 40 yards and stabbing him 70 to 80 times.

After, he kicked the dying Bloom in the head before walking back to where he was sitting and waiting for police to arrive.

“I just felt like I was in a position of danger and it was, it got my nerves rattled, ya know?” Sotelo-Urena testified. “My adrenaline just jumped up.”

At trial, his lawyers attempted to call an expert, former San Diego judge Robert C. Coates, to testify about how homeless people perceive violence and how they react to it. Coates had done research on the topic and was prepared to testify about an increased sensitivity to threats.

But Judge Rene Chouteau said Coates could not take the stand, ruling his opinions were not relevant. He said the issue was not whether Sotelo-Urena was homeless but rather, “what risk did he face that anybody would face sitting behind the library on Christmas Eve at night?”

“Homelessness has nothing to do with his possible victimization,” the judge said.

Sotelo-Urena was convicted in 2014 and sentenced to 26 years to life in prison.

A three-judge panel of the First Appellate District reversed the conviction, finding Chouteau erred in excluding the expert, depriving ?Sotelo-Urena of his right to present his full case.

The judges said Coates’ testimony could have supported a claim that Sotelo-Urena acted in self-defense or at the least, “imperfect self-defense,” meaning he had an honest but unreasonable belief that his actions were necessary to protect himself.

In that case, Sotelo-Urena could have been found guilty of lesser charges such as second-degree murder, which carries a 15 years-to-life sentence. A finding of pure self defense could have led to an acquittal.

Justices prefaced their ruling with a listing of violent attacks this year involving homeless people. Thomas Borbeck, 21, the man charged with killing Clark, is scheduled to appear in court Thursday with a preliminary hearing set for November.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.