School Taping Case Proceeds; Motion Delayed
A decision on a motion to dismiss the case against Oxnard school district employee Pedro R. Placencia, who is accused of secretly tape-recording a trustee’s telephone calls, was postponed Monday until the start of his trial Jan. 6.
Placencia, the former head of the district’s migrant education program, faces six felony counts that could bring a prison term of more than three years, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Schwartz.
On Monday, both sides agreed to put off action on motions to dismiss the case or reduce the counts to misdemeanors, which would reduce the potential jail time to a maximum of one year.
The case involves allegations that Placencia used a radio scanner to pick up and then tape-record conversations by Jim Suter, an Oxnard Elementary School District trustee.
The details of those recordings, which were made during tense negotiations over the naming of a new school, have not been made public.
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