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	Defense Lawyers for Salinas Priest Argue That Laptop, Hard Drive Illegally Seized By Sunita Vijayan The Californian January 8, 2010 http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20100108/NEWS01/1080334/1002/NEWS01 A hearing began Thursday to determine whether police illegally seized a computer hard drive they say contains child pornography and belongs to a Salinas priest. Defense lawyers for the Rev. Antonio Cortes, accused of sexually assaulting a minor, allege that Salinas police had no right taking a silver laptop and external hard drive on April 16 from the St. Mary of the Nativity Church office at 1702 Second Ave. Though Cortes was present at the office, his lawyers say, the officers did not have a search warrant for that location. Cortes' residence at the church rectory at 1747 Second Ave., was the only location for which police had a search warrant. Court documents submitted by defense lawyers gave this account: "Evidence seized at 1702 Second Ave. (church office) and subsequently moved to and photographed at 1747 Second Ave. (rectory). No warrant supported any seizures at 1702 Second Avenue. Therefore this evidence must be suppressed." Prosecutors, however, say the search warrant in the Cortes case "specifically authorized the search of the defendant" along with "search and seizure of computers and cell phones associated with the defendant." Therefore, the prosecution said, the items seized should be included as evidence. The prosecution also said the search warrant covers not only the rectory but Cortes' person. Court documents show that the videos in the seized hard drives had sexually explicit titles and that the computer also had images of children in sex acts. Cortes, 42, was ordered to stand trial on felony charges of sodomy with a minor and misdemeanor counts of possession of child pornography. He was placed on paid administrative leave after his arrest on April 16. His arrest came two days after a boy made the molestation claims to Salinas police. On Thursday afternoon, two of the officers involved in the search, Officer Steven Mattocks and then-Detective Lalo Villegas, testified before Monterey County Superior Court Judge Terrance Duncan. Eugene Martinez, one of Cortes' lawyers, repeatedly questioned both officers about their roles that day during the search and, more importantly, who removed from the church office Cortes' silver laptop and external hard drive. Duncan ordered the laptop returned to Cortes on Thursday following his lawyers' While both officers testified to seeing the laptop during the search, neither could say how the computer ended up as part of the evidence. Villegas testified that he and Sgt. Don Cline had gone to the church office April 16 and subsequently arrested Cortes. Cortes was in his office sitting beside a desk at the time. As he moved to handcuff the defendant, he said, Cortes reached for a cell phone on his desk. Villegas said he grabbed the cell phone before Cortes could take it. He testified that Cortes affirmed that the cell phone and laptop belonged to him. Villegas said he took Cortes outside to an unmarked police vehicle while Cline remained in the office. At one point, Martinez asked Villegas: "When you're sitting outside of the office with my client while Sergeant Cline and other officers [were in 1702 Second Ave.], did you think to yourself: 'We don't have a warrant for this?' " During cross-examination by Rolando Mazariegos, a county deputy district attorney, Villegas affirmed that the search warrant also covered seizure of items including computers, cell and external storage devices, in addition to more specific items listed such as "a black laptop," which was found in the rectory. Nearly a dozen police officers and detectives involved in the search warrant served to Cortes are being called by defense lawyers Martinez and Miguel Hernandez. Testimony is scheduled to resume Feb. 4. Contact: svijayan@thecalifornian.com
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