Post by Prison - A New Way ForwardThe trail went cold for nearly a decade until police got the manâs
fingerprints due to a minor traffic violation in 2016.
A man who broke into the homes of three Berkeley women and sexually
assaulted them in 2008 was convicted Monday as part of a plea deal and
sentenced to 24 years in state prison.
Johnny Dunbar, who was 16 at the time of the assaults, raped two of the
women. He used a knife to coerce his first victim and a gun to confront
his second one, according to police. Dunbar also used a knife to try to
force a third woman to orally copulate him but was âscared offâ
before he could succeed, police said after his arrest.
Police found fingerprints and collected DNA from the sex crimes, which
took place in the same North Berkeley neighborhood over just one month in
the summer of 2008. But the evidence didnât match anyone in the system.
The trail went cold and Dunbar evaded detection for nearly a decade.
That changed in March 2016 when Berkeley police pulled him over on a
minor traffic violation. Police collected his fingerprints as part of
that case and ultimately found their man: Subsequent forensic analysis
matched Dunbarâs prints to those found on a windowsill after the first
rape, on June 21, 2008.
Detectives then collected Dunbarâs DNA. It matched all three sexual assaults.
https://i0.wp.com/newspack-berkeleyside-cityside.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-conte
nt/uploads/2022/04/johnny-dunbar.jpg?resize=476%2C720&ssl=1 Johnny
Dunbar. Credit: ACSO
BPD arrested Dunbar on July 6, 2016, at his Delaware Street home not far
from the North Berkeley BART station. During the arrest, police also
found thousands of dollars in cash and evidence of drug dealing,
according to court papers.
Two days later, the Alameda County district attorneyâs office charged
Dunbar with two counts of forcible rape, one count of forcible oral
copulation and one count of attempted oral copulation. Dunbar, who was
then 24 years old, was charged as an adult.
Since that time, the case has moved through the court system at a glacial
pace. Initially, Dunbarâs defense attorney, Ernesto Castillo, attempted
to get his clientâs case moved to juvenile court. He was unsuccessful.
On Monday, at long last, the case was scheduled for a 9 a.m. preliminary
hearing, which is a sort of mini-trial where the prosecution puts forward
the evidence it believes will allow a judge to order a defendant to stand
trial.
This type of hearing, called a âpxâ for short, generally happens
within a year or so of arrest. But it can take longer if a case is
complex or the charges are particularly serious.
The px is often the first time evidence in a criminal case becomes
public. Key witnesses testify and experts take the stand.
The burden of proof for a preliminary hearing is much lower than at
trial, however. The prosecution doesnât put on its whole case and the
defense often presents no evidence. The judge must determine only that a
reasonable person could believe that the defendant may have committed the
crime.
On Monday, Dunbarâs scheduled preliminary hearing didnât happen at
the appointed time, however.
Instead, after taking some time in the courtroom to finalize a deal they
had been working on, Castillo and prosecutor Melissa Demetral told Judge
Andrew Steckler that Dunbar would change his not-guilty plea in the case
in exchange for an agreed-upon sentence. They announced the deal just
after 10:30 a.m.
As part of the agreement, Dunbar entered no-contest pleas and was
convicted of the June 21, 2008, forcible rape of the first woman he
assaulted, along with the July 8, 2008, forcible rape, as well as the
forcible oral copulation, of the second woman.
For each of those three counts, he will be sentenced to eight years in
prison, to be served consecutively, for a total of 24 years.
Dunbar also entered a no-contest plea and was convicted of attempted
forcible oral copulation in connection with the third womanâs assault,
on July 21, 2008. That carries a four-year sentence to be served
concurrently, meaning it will not add additional prison time.
During the hearing, in response to explanations and questions from Judge
Steckler, Dunbar said he understood the terms of the agreement and waived
his right to a jury trial.
Steckler confirmed that Dunbar, who is now 30 years old, understood that
the convictions would count as four strikes against him and that, when he
is released, he will have to register as a sex offender.
Dunbar, who wore the red, short-sleeved shirt of his jail scrubs along
with matching red-and-white-striped pants, spoke quietly and answered
only âyesâ or ânoâ to the judgeâs questions.
Berkeleyside was the only attendee at the hearing.
Dunbar is scheduled to return to Stecklerâs courtroom, at the René C.
Davidson Courthouse in Oakland, for his formal sentencing July 14.
Berkeley Police Sgt. Sean Ross, who ran the sex crimes unit at the time
of the stranger rape series in 2008, said the attacks âgripped the
entire community with fear.â
âDunbarâs crime spree of sexual assaults and burglaries in the summer
of 2008 forever altered the lives of three women,â Ross said. âThis
plea deal brings the closure the survivors and the community needed.â
Featured photo credit: Pete Rosos
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2022/04/19/johnny-dunbar-2008-berkeley-strang
er-rape-series-24-year-sentence
