Three people arraigned in Santa Rosa pig’s blood vandalism case

Three of the five Sonoma County activists accused of smearing pig’s blood on a downtown Santa Rosa sculpture and the former home of a Derek Chauvin trial expert witness were arraigned Monday morning.

Kristen Aumoithe, Amber Lucas and Rowan Dalbey appeared in Sonoma County Superior Court and were charged with one felony count of vandalism. The three are accused of covering the “Agraria” hand sculpture outside the Santa Rosa Plaza with pig’s blood on April 17, according to the District Attorney’s complaint.

Though they did not appear in court Monday, two other defendants, Colin Metcalfe and Christina Henry, are accused a related act of vandalism on April 17, where pig’s blood was smeared on the home formerly owned by Barry Brodd, an ex-Santa Rosa police officer and law enforcement trainer who testified on behalf of Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd.

All five are accused of one felony count each of conspiracy to commit both acts of vandalism, according to the amended complaint.

Attorneys for the three defendants in court Monday delayed entering their pleas until Aug. 23, when Metcalf is also scheduled to appear. Henry is scheduled to be arraigned on the complaint on Aug. 19. She is expected to join the others in court on Aug. 23, officials said.

At the hearing Monday, the District Attorney’s Office provided authorization for the attorneys of Aumoithe, Lucas and Dalbey to go to seek discovery documents in the case.

After the hearing, Vincent Barrientos, Aumoithe’s attorney, objected to the process of having to seek authorization for discovery materials. Barrientos said the case file should have been made available immediately and that he “intends to litigate” the matter.

The arraignment came three weeks after prosecutors formally accused the group of five activities of felonies, saying they worked together to plan and carry out the acts of predawn vandalism at the Santa Rosa home and mall sculpture.

Barrientos and Omar Figueroa, Lucas’ attorney have publicly pushed back at the allegations, suggesting the case is being aggressively charged and that some of the allegations are untrue.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.