Day 8: 2 key witnesses take stand in San Mateo Sheriff Corpus removal hearing
Sheriff Corpus's undersheriff Dan Perea testifies
On day eight of Sheriff Christina Corpus's removal hearing, the County Executive Mike Callagy and her second-in-command Undersheriff Dan Perea were called to testify.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Two key witnesses took the stand Wednesday, on the eighth day of San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus's administrative removal hearing.
The defense team called San Mateo County Executive Mike Callagy and Sheriff Corpus's Undersheriff Dan Perea to testify before retired Judge James Emerson, who is tasked with reviewing the evidence and testimony from the 10-day hearing, and then making a recommendation to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors whether Corpus should be removed from her elected office.
Corpus's defense attorney, Jim Lassart, questioned Callagy about his role in the removal proceedings against both Sheriff Corpus and her former Chief of Staff Victor Aenlle.
Callagy testified that he terminated Aenlle's first contract with the county to serve on Corpus's transition team, because Callagy thought Aenlle and the Sheriff were having an improper relationship after they flew to Hawaii together on a trip.
Callagy: "I terminated the contract and thought that would be the end of it."
Lassart: "Did the county enter into a contract with Mr. Aenlle after that?
Callagy: "It's my understanding the Sheriff entered into a contract with Mr. Aenlle."
Lassart: "Did you review that contract?"
Callagy: "I did not. I don't thin it ever came to me or the Board."
Both Aenlle and Corpus have testified they did not have a romantic relationship, and that Aenlle scheduled his trip to Hawaii to help Corpus with her special needs son on her flight to and from Hawaii for a family wedding.
Callagy and the court were shown the county's policy regarding conflicts of interest, which reads: "A conflict of interest occurs when your personal interests, or the interests of your family or friends, conflict with, or even appear to conflict with the interests of the County and the public."
The defense attorney asked Callagy about his friendship with Ryan Monaghan, who was hired as an Assistant Sheriff by Corpus after Callagy recommended Monaghan for the job.
Callay testified that when he later learned that the sheriff had fired Monaghan, Callagy refused to allow the termination to proceed, something the defense says indicates bias.
"He did this for his friend, and at the same time he's criticizing the Sheriff for hiring or bringing Mr. Aenlle. And that shows the lack of fairness and the bias," Lassart said.
Callagy has made previous statements that he stopped Monaghan's termination due to concerns over a potential lawsuit.
The second key witness was Undersheriff Dan Perea, who explained that he joined the sheriff's office as second-in-command after 34 years with the San Francisco Police Department.
Perea testified that Sheriff Corpus was well-liked and people in the public have shown strong support for Corpus, especially those in some underserved parts of the county.
"What I saw of the sheriff, was a very close connection with people in the community. I've seen that in every community that I"ve gone to with her," Perea said. "They're fond of her.
Perea said he had witnessed a hostile culture towards the sheriff and saw attempts by some captains to undermine the sheriff and himself.
He testified that a group of three captains "told me that the captains had met over the weekend and taken a vote of some type and that he was there to tell me and the Sheriff that they wanted us to resign."
KTVU asked the attorneys on the county's legal team for comment, but they declined.
Effie Milionis Verducci, a San Mateo County spokesperson, said the court reporter in the hearing is keeping track of who is taking time with each witness.
"As of this morning [Wednesday], the county had taken about 18 hours on either direct or cross, and the sheriff's defense had taken up almost 22 hours. so it's being tracked," Milionis Verducci said.
The hearing is expected to last until Friday, with Corpus expected to take the stand one last time before closing arguments.