Reginald Tanubagijo: California: Judge proceeds to sentence him - even though one of the convicting jurors had admitted to using his twitter account during the trial despite the judge’s admonition of all jurors not to use social media. One tweet from July 8, the second day of jury selection, read, “Are u kidding me? This jury duty (expletive) is NOT for me dude.” Another post to La Duna’s account began by stating, “In my book, everybody’s guilty until proven innocent. Tanubagijo took the witness stand in his own defense and testified that he neglected to tell anyone that as Buddy began to choke, he reached over to where the child was placed in a chair on top of the table, causing it to topple over onto the tile floor. Reporter Ryan Chalk: Times Herald.

 STORY: "Judge denies juror misconduct motion, sentences Suisan City man to prison in infant death case," by reporter Ryan Chalk, published by the Times Herald on April 3, 2015.

PHOTO CAPTION: "Reginald Tanubagijo, 58, receives a hug from Martinez criminal defense attorney Jaye Ryan (left) in Solano County Superior Court on Friday. Tanubagijo, who was convicted of second degree murder and felony child abuse charges last year, was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in prison in connection with the 2010 death of an infant in his care."

 GIST: "Despite an allegation of juror misconduct during his trial last year, a Solano County Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced a Suisun City foster father to life in prison. Reginald Tanubagijo, 58, was sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison in connection with the 2010 death of an infant in his care. Tanubagijo was found guilty by a jury in July 2014 of second degree murder and felony child abuse charges in connection with the death of a 3-month-old boy, who he called Buddy. It was a routine call for paramedics to assist with a baby choking on milk at Tanubagijo’s Youngstown Lane home in November 2010 that soon became an investigation into a possible assault on the child. According to trial testimony, Tanubagijo was feeding Buddy that evening when the choking began. Shortly after being rushed to a local hospital, a CT scan revealed a possible head injury. Buddy was airlifted to Children’s Hospital and Research Center in Oakland, where he would be taken off of life support five days later. Tanubagijo took the witness stand in his own defense and testified that he neglected to tell anyone that as Buddy began to choke, he reached over to where the child was placed in a chair on top of the table, causing it to topple over onto the tile floor. After a nearly monthlong jury trial and roughly three days of deliberations, the jury came to its verdicts. On Friday, Tanubagijo’s defense counsel, Martinez criminal defense attorney Jaye Ryan, argued the jury verdicts should be overturned. Ryan based her argument on the actions of one juror in particular, Philomeno La Duna III, who on Friday admitted to using his Twitter account during the trial despite the judge’s admonition of all jurors not to use social media. According to Ryan’s motion for a new trial,  ..” La Duna, upon being questioned by Judge Robert Bowers, asserted that the tweet had noting to do with the case, he kept an open mind throughout the trial and did not prejudge Tanubagijo. Ryan labeled La Duna’s tweets during trial “extremely disturbing.” “Mr. Tanubagijo was entitled to a juror who listened to the evidence, not a juror tweeting from the jury box,” Ryan argued. Bowers agreed that the juror violated the court’s orders regarding social media, but acknowledged he did not discuss the facts of the case. Further, even if the facts supported juror misconduct, Bowers, in denying the motion for a new trial, ruled that it wasn’t prejudicial to Tanubagijo......... Still, the outcome left Tanubagijo’s wife, Tamera, with questions surrounding the verdict rendered against her husband. Tamera, who testified at trial that her husband was a highly respected man in the community, said it’s been an injustice from the very beginning. “We’re going to fight. We’re not done. He’s innocent and he deserves a fair trial,” she said."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.timesheraldonline.com/general-news/20150403/judge-denies-juror-misconduct-motion-sentences-suisun-city-man-to-prison-in-infant-death-case

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 
 
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
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Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;