Witness comes forth in Kaddis case
By Kelly Feser Eells

Last August, Neil Evans told the Ventura County Board of Supervisors that his client, William Kaddis, was not responsible for the illegal clearance of 301 state-protected trees on his Lake Casitas-area property.

"Someone else did this," Evans was quoted as saying. "I feel we've done a reasonable job of showing that."

The Board of Supervisors didn't agree; they determined, instead, that it was a matter for the district attorney's office.
That office's Consumer and Protection Division reviewed the case to see if criminal or civil charges were in order, deciding in November of 2002 to file 11 criminal charges against Kaddis, including illegal grading of the 43-acre parcel and filing a false police report.

By January of this year, Evans was no longer representing Kaddis and two, additional "nuisance" charges - related to Kaddis' alleged operation of an illegal dog kennel - had been added, bringing the total count to 13.

Kaddis' new defense attorney, Roger Diamond, asked for, and was granted, three continuances, with a "final" trial date set for April 1.

But several days prior to that date, Deputy District Attorney Karen Wold reported that 22-year-old Abrim Soltes, the purported "bulldozer operator," indicated that he'd be willing to "negotiate" and/or strike a plea bargain with her office.

Soltes pled no contest to one count of altering the stream bed; hillside erosion; and the removal of a state-protected tree, Wold notes, "in exchange for his agreement to testify truthfully at Kaddis' trial" - now set for July 15.

"The other counts against him (Soltes) will be dismissed," added Wold. "And he'll likely serve no time in jail - just probation."

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

Back to the news