Opinion ID: 2630926
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Incidents Involving Both Defendants

Text: David Bendowski testified that he knew defendants when he lived in Napa in 1978 and 1979. Bendowski dated Tobin's ex-girlfriend for a period of time. Bendowski and his sister, Julie Bryant, testified that approximately in June of 1978, defendants appeared at Bendowski's residence and entered by force. They confronted Bendowski in the hallway, and Tobin kicked Bendowski in the face, bloodying his nose. Tobin told Bendowski he was angry that Bendowski had been dating Tobin's ex-girlfriend. Several months later, defendants, accompanied by Letner's brother John, returned to Bendowski's residence. John Letner asked Bendowski to come outside to talk, and promised there would be no trouble. When Bendowski went outside, however, defendants threatened to beat him up if he did not get into their car. Bendowski entered the vehicle, and Letner drove them out of town. Defendants demanded that Bendowski pay them for his dates with Tobin's ex-girlfriend. Tobin told Bendowski that [i]f she was gonna act like a whore, [Tobin] was gonna treat [her] like one. Defendants told him they were taking him out of town so that they could hang him from a tree and beat him. Bendowski attempted to escape when the car stopped at a traffic light, but one of the defendants slammed the car door closed before he succeeded. Defendants eventually took Bendowski 10 to 15 miles out of town and left him on the side of the road. On January 20, 1979, defendants again appeared at Bendowski's residence. When Julie, who then was 14 years of age, told them that Bendowski was not there, Tobin threatened to work [her] over if she did not check to make sure he was not in the house. She did so, and told them again that Bendowski was not at home. Defendants told her to tell Bendowski they were looking for him. Later that day, Bendowski was walking home when he saw defendants driving in a car. He tried to run away, but defendants followed him in their vehicle. Eventually, Bendowski decided to talk to defendants in an attempt to avoid being assaulted. After he entered their car, defendants again demanded that Bendowski pay them for his dates with Tobin's ex-girlfriend, and on this occasion threatened to break his fingers if he did not pay them. Defendants eventually dropped off Bendowski near his home. On November 29, 1986, William Healer was at a gas station in Napa, getting fuel for the pickup truck he was driving, when he was approached by defendants. Healer, who ran an auto body-repair shop, had performed some repair work on a vehicle owned by Tobin's mother. Healer had not completed the work when he moved his repair shop, and defendants, apparently believing that Healer purposefully had attempted to avoid completing the work even though he already had been paid by Tobin's mother, were going to take care of this in their ... own way. Defendants ordered Healer to drive them in his truck to the store where Tobin's mother worked. On the way, defendants picked up their friend Dan Hlobick, who needed a ride in order to purchase drugs. When they arrived at the store, Tobin took the keys to the truck and ordered Healer to go with him inside. Learning that Tobin's mother was not there, defendants ordered Healer to drive to another store where she worked. During the drive, Letner threatened Healer, and said he should not have burned Tobin's mother. When they arrived at the store, Tobin entered to locate his mother, and while in the truck Letner continued to threaten Healer. When Tobin returned, Letner opened the truck door next to Healer and struck him in the face. After Healer begged defendants not to hurt him, defendants asked him whether he or his family had any money. When Tobin's mother arrived, Healer, who was crying, apologized to her for any misunderstanding concerning her car. Mrs. Tobin said there was no misunderstanding and asked him why he was so upset. When Healer explained what had happened, Mrs. Tobin offered to drive him home in her car, but Healer declined because he was afraid defendants might steal valuable tools in the truck. Tobin intervened, denying that anyone had struck Healer, and stating they would let him leave. After Mrs. Tobin left and the men drove away, however, Letner again told Healer to give them money in order not to be hurt further, and he demanded Healer's wallet. When Healer said he did not have it with him, Tobin accused him of lying and ordered him to pull over and get out of the truck. Outside the truck, Letner kicked Healer in the chest and continued to demand the wallet. When Healer said he would give him money at his house, they all reentered the truck. As Healer was driving, Letner said he needed to stop and pick up a gun because he was afraid Healer might do something when they reached his house. Letner ordered Healer to drive to the address where the gun was located. During the drive, Tobin grabbed the back of Healer's head and Letner began hitting him in the face. Tobin grabbed Healer's neck and choked him. When they arrived at the address, defendants again struck Healer several times and discussed who would go inside to retrieve the gun. At this point Healer noticed his door was unlocked, exited the truck, and ran to a nearby car. Pounding on the hood of the car, he pleaded with the driver to let him in, saying, Help me. Help me. They're going to kill me. The driver let him in and drove away. One of the defendants chased after the car on foot before the driver accelerated. Moments later, Healer realized that a house they were passing was occupied by persons he knew. The driver stopped the car and Healer ran to the house, whose occupants let him in and called the police. Healer was treated at the hospital for injuries to his throat and chest. His ribs were permanently disfigured, and he had ongoing emotional problems arising from the incident.