John Huelsman, stepfather of former Fullerton Police Officer Jay Cicinelli, went on KFI–AM 640 this afternoon to blast the city council for its decision to clear Kelly Thomas of wrongdoing on the night he was beaten to death. No big surprise! Hueslman viewed the council's move as a pollution of the jury pool which may soon hear his son's manslaughter case.
On Tuesday, Capt. Dan Hughes, acting chief of police, publicly stated that there was no evidence to suggest Kelly had broken into cars at the Fullerton Transportation Center as was alleged by Slidebar employee Jeanette DeMarco.
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Huelsman took issue with the fact that the city seemed to outright discount DeMarco's allegations, adding that Kelly was in possession of a backpack accidentally left behind by someone at the train station.
He further argued that by being in possession of items not belonging to him, Kelly was in violation of the law. When show host Bill Carroll suggested that Thomas might have been preparing to return the items to their owner, Huelsman said it was Thomas' responsibility to notify the police of that fact, which he didn't.
Who knows–maybe Kelly found it hard to speak with Cicinelli's taser smashing into his face.
Most reasonable people will conclude that Huelsman is blowing smoke on behalf of his son, who faces prison if convicted. But the former detective argued that the general public isn't sophisticated enough to understand the subtleties of the law and that by clearing Kelly of breaking into cars, the city has harmed Cicinelli's chances of getting a fair shake in the courtroom.
Afterward, Kelly's father, Ron Thomas, appeared on the show.
“As far as clearing Kelly's name, (Capt. Hughes) dealt with the facts only,” said Ron.
He explained that the acting chief of police's statements were corroborated in an earlier report by independent investigator Michael Gennaco in February.
As for why Kelly didn't mention the backpack didn't belong to him, Ron said that between Officer Manuel Ramos' taunting and the ensuing beating, Kelly, a homeless schizophrenic, didn't have an opportunity to clear the air.
“Kelly was never documented as a thief,” Thomas said.
