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Uploaded: Monday, February 25, 2013, 12:39 PM
Nine months later, still no preliminary hearing for lawyer charged in hit and run death
San Ramon attorney remains free on $60,000 bail
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by Glenn Wohltmann
More than nine months after his arrest, a San Ramon attorney charged in a hit and run death has yet to step inside a courtroom to face the allegations against him.
Spencer Freeman Smith's sole appearance has been to enter a not guilty plea last June, where he said nothing but a few whispered words to his attorney.
Smith was arrested on May 17, 2012 for the death of a bicyclist two days earlier and remains free on $60,000 bail. Bo Hu, 57, also of San Ramon, was either walking his bike or riding northbound on Dougherty Road near Fall Creek Road, when he was struck and killed. Hu was pronounced dead at the scene.
Smith, 33, was arrested for vehicular manslaughter and felony hit and run after police tracked parts found at the scene to his 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550.
"At the time of the accident, our officers responded and they collected three vehicle parts that were left at the scene," said Lt. Herb Walters at the time. "Each part has a serial number on it. They found that it belonged to a Mercedes."
Walters said officers then went to a Mercedes dealership, which tracked the numbers down and determined they came from a black 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550.
"We asked them if they'd sold any 2012's and they said, 'Well, we can't tell you without a court order,'" Walter said in 2012.
He said police knew who their suspect was as soon as they got the list from the dealership.
"We called him, and he says, 'I'll be there in 20 minutes.' It turned out to be an hour and a half and he showed up with his attorney," Walters said after Smith's arrest.
A search warrant at Smith's home showed the car, with extensive front end and windshield damage. Walters said at the time that the damage matched the parts recovered at the scene.
Smith's sole appearance so far has been to enter a not guilty plea. He said nothing at that first appearance last June but a few whispered words to his attorney.
He's had a number of court dates set for a preliminary hearing, which will determine if the case will go to trial. A special attorney was appointed by the court to examine items seized in the police investigation that Smith claimed he needed for clients.
Meanwhile, the case keeps getting pushed back on the court's calendar. His next appearance is set for March 7, although it had been set for a preliminary hearing on Friday, Feb. 22.
Smith, who lives in San Ramon, is a partner at the San Francisco firm of Smith Patten. He practices employment law.
He is the second San Ramon attorney to get arrested in the last year. Lesley Regina was charged with a misdemeanor for receiving confidential documents. She has not appeared in court since her arrest in June of last year.Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Derek, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Feb 25, 2013 at 2:26 pm "If it goes to trial"? Our ultra-lazy D.A's better not plea bargain this lowlife's time down. I'll have to climb on my left-wing soapbox here and shout it out: if Mr. Smith had been a poor dark skinned fellow from an area a bit more eastward, he would a) have already been charged, and b) would have been sitting in a cell for the last nine months.
The black mercedes- choice of more @-holes worldwide than any other vehicle.
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Posted by Rick Pshaw, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Feb 25, 2013 at 7:56 pm Well, let's not forget about black helicopters. They are pernicious and omnipresent.
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Posted by LMP, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Feb 26, 2013 at 7:03 am Derek, I believe Mr. Smith is a dark skinned fellow, just one from San Ramon (and an attorney). Your point, however, is well taken. He is, no doubt, connected. "Professional courtesy"- there's a shark joke here somewhere.
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Posted by Louise, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Feb 27, 2013 at 9:40 am I don't care what color the driver of the Mercedes is. More importantly, he hit and ran. That in and of itself shows someone who flaunts the law and was trying not to get caught. Also, he is an attorney and is represented by one of the best criminal attorneys in the area. If you know the system and can pay for good counsel, you may get a lesser sentence. This is what it sounds like. Point in fact: he should be held to a higher standard since he knows the law.
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Posted by CW, a resident of the Blackhawk neighborhood, on Feb 27, 2013 at 1:16 pm I agree with Louise completley! Why does "color" play into this or anything else for that matter?! I'm so sick of "race" playing into everything. The color of one's skin should have no bearing on anything! However, a person of color should not be allowed to escape their crime because they are "of color"! Also one should not be elected president because he is "of color" but we know many people voted for our current president because of his color!
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Posted by Huh?, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Feb 27, 2013 at 2:19 pm CW, for a person who is "sick of 'race' playing into everything" you seem pretty fixated on it yourself. Accusing others of voting for a person because of his race is pretty offensive, if you weren't aware of that. A can assure you that everyone I know who voted for the Democratic candidate for President in the election would have done so regardless of the skin color of either candidate. I don't know who the "we" are supposed to be who "know" otherwise, but you're dead wrong.
Your accusation to the contrary just exposes your own obsession with race.
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Posted by Citizen Paine, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Feb 27, 2013 at 2:42 pm So, THIS is where the Republican talking points about their difficulties being more about 'messaging' than 'message' have ended-up? That Mr. Obama won BECAUSE he's black??
That's really rich. Has anybody run that one through the HoHo Test, yet? Because I'm sitting here just giggling like a schoolchild... Let's see, what else: the civil war was fought to wrest control of the Confederacy's shacks and cotton fields away from those greedy slaves? Medgar Evers shot himself five times in his driveway?
Once you trade-in your Reality Card, why, the possibilities are endless!
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Posted by Julia, a resident of the Blackhawk neighborhood, on Feb 27, 2013 at 3:37 pm My theory is that he hit and ran because he was drunk. Then he went home, sobered up, and called his lawyer. He did it to avoid a felony DUI. Instead he's being charged with a misdemeanor. Smart, when you think about it. Pretty despicable, though.
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Posted by frankly, a resident of the San Ramon neighborhood, on Mar 1, 2013 at 6:50 am while each is supposed to have his day in court and that they are innocent..., why cant the public is they believe the facts as provided, do its own impeachment and not provide any clients to people like this.
Band together in an unspoken manner to not refer, provide, seek, any legal contact with is person and soon that person has to make added and probably lethal decisions and move on else to practice law which drunk.
What's your view?
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Posted by C. R. Mudgeon, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Mar 1, 2013 at 5:40 pm Derek,
Good job in trying to make this a story about race (as well as money), without knowing the race of the accused. If you were assuming in your mind that an attorney would be white, then perhaps that says more about your own stereotypical views.
Back to the original story, I'd be interested to know what the typical time interval is for scheduling court proceedings in similar hit-and-run cases that resulted in a death. I'd like to think that this guy isn't receiving special treatment just by virtue of being an attorney, or for some other reason. But it does seem like it's taking a long time.
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