TWO CALIFORNIA CCORRECTIONAL OFFICERS FACE CHARGES FOR OFF-DUTY BAR BRAWL DEATH

By Bob Walsh

Now this one doesn’t exactly peg out the stink-o-meter, but there is definitely a faint smell of rotten fish around the case.

Travis Woolf, 37, and Sergio Aranda, 36, used to be Correctional Officers at Salinas Valley State Prison in the formerly great state of California. They are facing manslaughter charges in the death of Alvaro Medrano, 54, a vineyard manger, in a bar fight on Sept. 7, 2014. They were both sacked in April of 2015.

It seems that there was some sort of confrontation between the three principles inside the Elkhorn Bar. When Woolf and Aranda got around to leaving the bar Medrano and five of his home-boys were waiting, and they attacked Woolf and Aranda. Medrano got knocked down by Woolf and hit his head. At some point, while Medrano was down and maybe unconscious, he got stomped by Aranda. Medrano died. There is some video surveillance of this fight.

It further seems that Woolf and Aranda had priors for involvement in bar fights. Several priors. It would also seem that Medrano was known for mixing it up in bar brawls.

Where this starts to smell bad is David Duckworth. Duckworth allegedly witnessed this brawl from some distance away. Duckworth was a friend of Medrano and gave a statement to the local constabulary that was very beneficial to Woolf and Aranda. However, that video was “misfiled” and the prosecution didn’t “find” it until December 2015. Duckworth has since died. The defense is presenting the Duckworth material as “vital” to their case.

So, was this an honest whoops as the prosecution claims, or evidence of bad faith prosecution as the defense claims? I don’t know, but I do know that it at least smells somewhat fishy. There have been large numbers of supporters for both sides of this issue in court as motions have been made. So far, the judge has refused to dismiss the charges and it looks like the case against Woolf and Aranda will proceed.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Forget the rotten fish smell. All these brawlers deserved each other. With Medrano packed in dirt and Wolf and Aranda probably staying out of bars, there will now be fewer MMA bouts at the Elkhorn Bar.