Charges reduced in break-in at Petaluma poultry farm

Felony charges were reduced Monday against two women who have been accused of conspiracy in connection with an early morning incursion onto a Petaluma poultry facility last year.

Judge Lynnette Brown’s ruling was handed down during an appearance in Sonoma County Superior Court in Santa Rosa, where defendants Zoe Rosenberg and Raven Deerbrook were present.

Each woman had previously faced four felony counts of conspiracy and one misdemeanor count each of trespassing, petty theft and tampering with a vehicle at Petaluma Poultry, 2700 Lakeville Highway in Petaluma.

Brown’s decision was the result of a May 3 preliminary hearing to determine if there was enough evidence to send Rosenberg and Deerbrook to trial as they had previously been charged.

“The steadily declining number and seriousness of these charges underscores what is really going on with this case: prosecutors have overcharged Ms. Rosenberg in order to deflect from their stubborn refusal to enforce animal cruelty laws at Sonoma County factory farms,” Rosenberg’s defense attorney, Chris Carraway, said in a statement Monday.

Rosenberg’s felonies were consolidated into a single count, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.

Brown also dismissed three of Deerbrook’s felonies and reduced the fourth to a misdemeanor.

District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said Brown considered Deerbrook’s minimal criminal history, and she understands Brown’s decision to consolidate Rosenberg’s charges.

The conspiracy charges against Rosenberg all involved allegations of theft, vandalism or trespassing. Each will instead be referenced in the lone remaining felony count, officials said.

“We appreciate the judge thoroughly listened to the evidence and made her ruling, and we will use the evidence to guide us when we file information in court for the trial,“ Rodriguez said.

Rosenberg is a member of Direct Action Everywhere, a controversial Berkeley-based animal activist group also known as DxE.

Members contend they have a right to rescue animals in distress and have staged protests outside poultry farms, sometimes chaining themselves to private property and entering private property to remove animals.

This month’s preliminary hearing came days after a state report raised the possibility that DxE members may have factored into a recent outbreak in avian flu.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture report references multiple potential causes, including biosecurity concerns, along with the possibility that the pathogen was introduced by employees.

The outbreak, which began late last year and continued into early this year, affected 10 Sonoma County poultry operations. More than 1.2 million birds had to be destroyed to prevent further contamination within the county’s nearly $50 million egg and poultry industry.

DxE has denied responsibility and instead pointed to breakdowns and flaws on the parts of the poultry farms.

According to testimony during the preliminary hearing, a June 13 incursion began at about 2:30 a.m., and involved about 50 people who protested outside Petaluma Poultry.

Investigators said four of those protesters took five or six birds from a company vehicle. They fled in a Nissan Pathfinder that was identified as a rental.

Prosecutors argued that footage from the protest showed Rosenberg and Deerbrook. Defense attorneys, though, countered that the footage was not clear.

Rosenberg was arrested Nov. 30 following sentencing for DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung, who was convicted in a conspiracy and trespassing case involving Reichardt and Sunrise poultry farms near Petaluma.

DxE hasn’t referenced Deerbrook in its statements and her attorney, Izaak Schwaiger, said she is only an associate, not a member of the group.

He agreed with Carraway and said prosecutors had also overcharged Deerbrook.

“Sometimes bringing a felony prosecution when you could bring a misdemeanor prosecution is done to intimidate a defendant into taking a deal,” Schwaiger said. “And when that happens, it is an abuse of the prosecutor’s discretion.”

Both Rosenberg and Deerbrook are scheduled to return to court May 23 for arraignment on the new charges.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi