March 5, 2009
The recent murder case of former Oxnard Police Officer, Robert Perez Jr., 37, has sparked many questions and concerns regarding the lack of journalistic integrity by the Ventura County Star.
Claudia Valenciana, a former sheriff's deputy, owned the home where Perez's body was found. She has hired attorney Ron Bamieh, who incidentally, also represents the Ventura County Star.
The recent article written by staff writer Adam Foxman, gives a platform to the attorney to defend his client while questions are not only left unanswered, it seems to favorably represent Valenciana without challenging or investigating her own past behavior.
Bamieh most recently represented the Star in getting Judge Steven Hintz to quash a subpoena filed by the state Attorney General's Office. Apart from the Star, Bamieh is currently representing former basketball coach Greg Winslow, who is facing prison time if he is convicted of grand theft and theft of public funds. He has pleaded not guilty.
Yet, his latest and most controversial victory has left others baffled. Bamieh was Gustavo Tapia's lawyer, who was recently acquitted of murder. Prosecutor Stacy Ratner, showed disappointment when the verdict was read and Tapia was acquitted.
Does Ron Bamieh's easy access to the Star, and favorable representation have an influence on these cases?
Bamieh's clients have received favorable local media coverage, and the Star has played mouthpiece to Bamieh. This would normally not be a problem, but seeing that the Star seems to have vested interest, we feel the articles are not written fairly.
Because of this clear conflict of interest between the lawyer and the Star, we will try to link the follow ups to the Robert Perez Jr. case by a different media source, and not the Ventura County Star.
Journalism comes with great responsibility, including getting the details out to the public in a way that is fair, objective and impartial, and we feel that this article has broken most of the ethics and standards that are the norm in journalism.
We feel that Adam Foxman did not write this article in the best interest of the public, but rather, in the best interest of the attorney.
Bamieh most recently represented the Star in getting Judge Steven Hintz to quash a subpoena filed by the state Attorney General's Office. Apart from the Star, Bamieh is currently representing former basketball coach Greg Winslow, who is facing prison time if he is convicted of grand theft and theft of public funds. He has pleaded not guilty.
Yet, his latest and most controversial victory has left others baffled. Bamieh was Gustavo Tapia's lawyer, who was recently acquitted of murder. Prosecutor Stacy Ratner, showed disappointment when the verdict was read and Tapia was acquitted.
Does Ron Bamieh's easy access to the Star, and favorable representation have an influence on these cases?
Bamieh's clients have received favorable local media coverage, and the Star has played mouthpiece to Bamieh. This would normally not be a problem, but seeing that the Star seems to have vested interest, we feel the articles are not written fairly.
Because of this clear conflict of interest between the lawyer and the Star, we will try to link the follow ups to the Robert Perez Jr. case by a different media source, and not the Ventura County Star.
Journalism comes with great responsibility, including getting the details out to the public in a way that is fair, objective and impartial, and we feel that this article has broken most of the ethics and standards that are the norm in journalism.
We feel that Adam Foxman did not write this article in the best interest of the public, but rather, in the best interest of the attorney.
If Bamieh is as good attorney as his track record shows, he should be able to do his job without the fluff of the local media. We are not accusing Bamieh of being a terrible lawyer, just that it is a conflict of interest.
If you are a regular commenter on the Star, I encourage you to write a letter to the editor when you feel journalistic standards are not being upheld, not just on this case, but every single time they leave important details, including race, out of the articles. We, the readers, must hold the media accountable.
Related Links:
>Send a letter to the editor of the Star (guidelines included)
M. Johnston Said,
After re-reading the articles with the knowledge that Ron Bamieh is the lawyer for the Ventura County Star, it does indeed come off as a "mouthpiece" as you put it. VCS should really consider getting a new lawyer or having a less personal spin on the articles.
Posted on March 5, 2009 12:22 PM
805native Said,
It is most certainly a conflict of interest. The Star should be ashamed of manipulating media access.
Posted on March 5, 2009 4:06 PM
Carlos Said,
If Ron Bamieh does represent the Star, the Star should have disclosed that information on every article Bamieh was mentioned on as attorney for full disclosure.
It was not done and the intentions of the writers, Adam Foxman and Raul Hernandez, do not seem to be in good faith.
I agree with M. Johnston & 805native.
Posted on March 5, 2009 4:26 PM
Anonymous Said,
so they don't print a person's race because they can't but then they give this lawyer, or should I say liar, all the space he wants to be able to spin his stories. he only has a good track record because he defends felons on technicalities and bad mouths the police department. it is getting harder and harder to take them seriously and i mean all of them the liar the felons and the star.
Posted on March 5, 2009 5:26 PM
Anonymous Said,
hi, I'm a relative of Robert. I dont defend all his actions but i do think he is being portrayed unfairly. there is two sides to every story and the fact that both girls were in law enforcement and took abuse doesn't make sense. claudia has been known to exaggerate about things. she's the type of girl that if no one is paying attention to her, she calls attention to herself. thank u for calling out the star. i wrote a letter to the paper when this came out but i dont think i can express my thoughts as smart as u. may the truth prevail and i hope Robert can rest in piece. he's not here to defend his name but i want to say that i am gratefull that you are pointing this out. we can't sit back and let it happen.
Posted on March 5, 2009 5:37 PM
Anonymous Said,
They can get away with it because there is no competition.
Posted on March 5, 2009 6:17 PM
inmynotsohumbleopinion Said,
lmao im beginning to like this blog. i will support ur blog over the paper and that attorney anytime. david vs goliath. right on.
Posted on March 5, 2009 9:13 PM
Anonymous Said,
Is there someone on this site that can do more research on Denise Shadinger? Her story now seems fishy. When he was in jail, she was giving him money and even visiting. Thank you.
Posted on March 5, 2009 11:32 PM
vtagrl805 Said,
denise is a vengeful person. she needs to be investigated for telling the dispatcher that rob was a cop. she did it for one reason and one reason only and that was that once he was 'accused' of abuse he could no longer be a cop and being a cop was his life. she was scorn woman and these type of looney toon bitches give the rest of us a bad name. i dont know who she was screwing but someone is backing up her lame ass story. she wanted a way out and accused him of cheating.
if denise did tell the truth and he was keeping her from leaving, then she makes a terrible cop and the story doesn't make sense. if she lied then she is a bitch and deserves to go to hell and get her fucken ass kicked. she is obviously a wimp. i hope i never see her lame ass in the fuken streets. she did him dirty and i think she wasnt investigated enough. she's fucking someone and im going to find out who it is. fuck denise.
Posted on March 6, 2009 12:00 AM
Anonymous Said,
Just by his picture, the lawyer looks creepy.
Posted on March 6, 2009 12:24 PM
Anonymous Said,
I support your blog...Thank you for being independent of the media & not putting a spin on any news!
Posted on March 6, 2009 2:03 PM
Anonymous Said,
hi, this is robert's relative again. i tried to rewrite my letter to the editor, and i am having trouble writing it. can u post some tips on how to write to the editor about this? i am not a writer but i want to be taken seriousl. i've never written to a newspaper anymore. thank u.
Posted on March 6, 2009 2:19 PM
M. Johnston Said,
Hi, Elidet. I wanted to give you an update on something interesting. I contacted an old college friend of mine who is a journalist for a paper in Arizona.
He showed it to his editor and fellow journalists. He said that there is no way this would be or should be allowed and that you were right in calling out the Star. Here's an excerpt from his email:
"Once you put out an article like this, you lose credibility. As a journalist, all we have sometimes is credibility. Credibility is important when working with the public and we must already compete with bloggers who are media watchdogs. In this case, I would side with the blogger."
Posted on March 6, 2009 2:36 PM
Elidet Reyes Said,
@ Anonymous posters:
Thanks for posting on here.
You don't have to sign up to post on our blog, but I request that if you guys can make a screen name at least, it would be great!
It will help when we respond to any questions. It doesn't require an email confirmation or anything, just pick a name.
@ M. Johnston-Thanks for the info. I also contacted 3 journalists before writing this piece and the response was similar to your friend's response.
@ Anonymous (Robert's relative) - I will work on an outline and post the link as soon as I'm done for you and anyone else who wants to write to the editor.
@ vtagrl805- It seems you know something about Denise. I recommend that if there is information on her character, you contact authorities. You can remain anonymous. I also recommend that you try to keep it as civil and use only facts of what you know.
Posted on March 6, 2009 3:08 PM
press supporter Said,
The article from the Star is an insult to journalists everywhere. When people complain that the media is not trustworthy anymore, it is because
of things like this.
Bamieh is just a typical lawyer.
The Star should know better.
Posted on March 6, 2009 5:29 PM
Juan Hidalgo Said,
Hi, Elidet-
I am very impressed with your dedication to no bias in the media.
The Star should have the level of commitment that you have when writing their stories.
-A myspace friend
Posted on March 6, 2009 7:24 PM
Anonymous Said,
power has officially shifted to the people.
Posted on March 6, 2009 8:04 PM
hijodelmaiz Said,
As Ellie would say- 'oh snap!' high five, girl.
Posted on March 7, 2009 11:44 AM
champ Said,
I don't have the guts to write to the attorney but I agree with this article.
Posted on March 7, 2009 4:06 PM
Anonymous Said,
i usually read the story on the star first then come here to cross check and i used to think the star had more detials. now i see that they just add the spin they feel like adding depending who is making the official statement. thanks for not bowing down. i also like how u print the race and the mug shots. please let us know how we can help you keep this website running. at the end the truth will prevail. thank u for ur dedication in keeping this trail fair for everyone, including robert.
Posted on March 8, 2009 12:30 AM
Camdad101 Said,
The Star does as it pleases. Shoddy reporting, inaccurate information, and racial discrimination.
If you are a criminal of color, have no fear, the Star will do little to assist in your capture. If you are white however, you're goose is cooked as the Star WILL print YOUR race.
They can't even follow their OWN policy of not mentioning race of accused persons. It IS a moronic policy especially considering that most times it pertains to criminals running loose in our communities.
Comment policy is very selectively enforced. I and others have been banned for pointing out grammatical errors, inaccurate facts, and other obvious problems at the Star.
They have a right to do as they see fit, BUT we, the residents of Ventura County have a right to call them on it and show the Star for what it is.
Thank you 805vigilantes for providing this forum of information.
Posted on March 12, 2009 1:05 PM
Camdad101 Said,
I would like to add that as much as some defense attorneys makes my skin crawl, they are just doing their job.
To be fair to Mr Bamieh, it is his job to aggressively defend his client by all legal means necessary and available. Mr Bamieh is not the one at fault here, it is the Star. It is THEIR duty to avoid this conflict of interest.
We all love to slam defense attorneys, but if you are ever wrongly accused of a crime, you'll want the best. I've been on both sides of this, and I can tell you, he's just doing what the law says he should do.
Posted on March 12, 2009 1:12 PM
High Society Said,
Hey, Camdad101-
Long time no see. Just wanted to point out, though, that the writer was not slamming the attorney, just Adam Foxman and the evident bias on this case.
In his second article, he said it was "clear" she was innocent, but there is reasonable doubt. He received a platform not even our local law enforcement has access to.
How many times did OPD have to come and comment on the Star because there were certain IMPORTANT things that the Star was leaving out.
If Bamieh has access, then so should law enforcement, because law enforcement has the interest of the community, where as the attorney has an ulterior motive.
And no one is wrongly accusing her of a crime. If anything, I believe there's more to the story. Nothing is ever what it seems.
Posted on March 12, 2009 1:54 PM
Anonymous Said,
Ron has never been the same after his partner, Phil Ericson walked in front of a train several years ago.
Posted on April 8, 2009 5:49 PM