FRESNO, CA (KM) – Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula’s Father Testifies at Child Abuse Trial
Defense calling a series of witnesses to the stand on Friday.
Nate Miller, Elizabeth Arambula’s brother first on the stand as a character witness.
He’s an attorney and his two boys attend school with Arambula’s girls.
Miller said his brother in law is the most mild mannered person and called Arambula the “gold standard of parenting.”
“I’ve never seen him lose his mind that’s why this whole thing blows my mind”
He said his kids were at the Arambula home on the day the incident occurred, they were playing hot lava on the furniture.
He says one time the 7-year old girl lied, he says she pushed his son off a toy car then claimed to be hurt.
Miller continued saying the day of the incident his son and Arambula’s daughter banged heads together, providing a possible cause for any injury to her head.
“I would never lie in this chair. I’m not protecting him. I’m telling the truth,” said MIller.
ADA Steve Wright asks Miller about discipline. Miller said he did not see anything untoward.
“Without my parents discipline I wouldn’t be an attorney today,” said Miller.
The executive director of the charter school, Jeanne Pentorali, testifed about the day that CPS was called.
She said that the police officer Stephan Phoebus responding to the case was very loud and she had asked him to keep his voice down, because he spoke of assemblyman Joaquin Arambula by name, in breech of school confidentiality.
She says the social worker telling her that this was a high profile case with the assemblyman.
The Arambula family babysitter said she sat once a month for the past four years, offering insight to family life.
She spoke about the 7 year old at the center of the case, saying she is a very bright child, with a lot of emotions, that she seen the daughter acting violent and hitting her self with a book.
She spoke about Joaquin Arambula’s character calling him a kind dad and a loving guy.
Defense attorney Michael aid asking her a series of questions about witnessing any abuse, she said none, but did tell the jury about the daughter acting violent and hitting herself with a book.
The 5th and last witness on Friday was Juan Arambula, the grandfather, a former Assemblyman and Joaquin’s father.
He said his son loves his grandchild. “I am here to protect my grandchild.”
He responded with a series of “no’s” to questions if he had seen his son hit, punch or other acts against his granddaughter.
Juan Arambula did say the child did not like limits and his son would hold her to calm her down, calling his discipline “lenient.”
Testimony resumes Monday, May 13, 2019 at 9:00am.
Click to listen to the reports by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
