Defense attorneys in the Oakland public corruption trial scrutinized the FBI’s decision to spare the devices of cooperating witness Mario Juarez while seizing hardware from the defendants.
Challenging the Federal Investigation Strategy
On Tuesday, the eighth day of the trial involving former Mayor Sheng Thao and three co-defendants, defense lawyers pressed FBI special agent Katherine Barclay over why investigators omitted Juarez’s cellphones, computers, and iPad from seizures.
“For Mr. Juarez, you made a different decision,” Jeff Schenk, an attorney for David Duong, told Barclay during cross-examination. “You chose to treat him differently.”
Barclay defended the agency’s investigative approach, testifying that authorities acquired substantial data through search warrants targeting Juarez’s iCloud and email accounts. “We already had a lot of data,” Barclay stated, adding that investigators possessed a clear profile of the witness.
Mark Goldrosen, representing Andre Jones, questioned whether the government relied on Juarez’s account without independently verifying claims. Barclay countered that investigators secured communications involving other participants in the alleged scheme.
Disputing Evolutionary Homes Employment Records
Goldrosen also targeted government allegations that Jones accepted payment for a no-show job at Evolutionary Homes, a housing venture linked to the Duong family and Juarez.
The defense introduced company promotional material listing Jones as a government relations representative alongside his phone number. Messages showed Juarez updating Jones regarding modular homes shipped from a Mexican factory to Oakland. Photographs placed Jones alongside Juarez and members of the Duong family following a September 2023 meeting in San Jose.
Defense teams framed the meetings and communications as standard business operations rather than a fraudulent arrangement. Goldrosen pointed out discrepancies in company documents, noting that some records included Jones while others omitted him.
Attorneys emphasized that the housing transactions central to the prosecution’s case never occurred, nor was Larry Gallegos appointed to a city department leadership post.
Physical Evidence Recovered From a Garage
FBI analyst Katherine Higgons testified briefly regarding physical evidence discovered during a federal search of Andy Duong’s garage, where agents located jewelry belonging to Juarez inside a bank deposit envelope stored in a closed white cabinet.
The items included a silver watch and a gold braided bracelet allegedly taken from Juarez during a May 3, 2024 confrontation outside California Waste Solutions offices in Oakland. Juarez became agitated after being locked out of the building, and the resulting altercation led him to report both the physical incident and public corruption allegations to the Oakland Police Department, which subsequently referred the matter to federal agents.
“It felt like it had been hidden,” Higgons testified about the placement of the envelope. All four defense teams declined to cross-examine the analyst.
Immunity and Secret Board Meeting Recordings
U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers signed a statutory immunity and compulsion order for upcoming witness Cecilia Mendez, a former partner of Juarez and mother of one of his children, following a request from federal prosecutors.
Mendez worked for Evolutionary Homes, where her tasks included drafting board meeting minutes. She recorded meetings without the knowledge of attendees to assist in compiling those records. Prosecutors intend to play 10 excerpts from her audio recordings for jurors on Wednesday morning.
Mendez initially appeared in court without legal representation, prompting Judge Gonzalez Rogers to intervene. “She is not going on without a lawyer,” the judge told the prosecution. “I’ll try to find her a lawyer.”
Following the signing of the order protecting her from the use of compelled testimony in subsequent criminal cases, Mendez’s attorney confirmed she would testify.
Upcoming Courtroom Testimony Schedule
Wednesday’s proceedings will feature testimony from Mendez, followed by former Oakland Assistant City Administrator Latonda Simmons and former Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson. Mario Juarez is scheduled to take the stand after their testimony concludes.
