No defense witnesses in Colonies trial

Defense attorneys for all four defendants in the Colonies Crossroads corruption trial rested yesterday without any of them calling a witness to testify.

The move came as a surprise.  Lawyers for developer Jeff Burum, former San Bernardino County Supervisor Paul Biane, former assistant county assessor Jim Erwin and Mark Kirk, former chief of staff to one-time Supervisor Gary Ovitt were expected to call enough witnesses to keep testimony going at least into Thursday.

But after statements by attorneys for Kirk and Biane, and after both sides agreed not to contest what five people connected with the case would have testified to had they been called to do so – formally called a stipulation agreement – the defense chose not to continue.

“I guess the defense case went a little quicker than we thought it would,” San Bernardino County Superior County Superior Court Judge Michael A. Smith quipped after each of the defense attorneys had announced their decision.
That comment was applauded by the jury.

One of those attorneys said he’s looking forward to handing over his case to the jury, which began hearing testimony in January.

“We feel very strongly that the government has presented no evidence supporting its charges.” said Stephen Larson, Burum’s attorney.

All four defendants face criminal charges in connection with the development of Colonies Crossroads, the retail and residential project in Upland on which Burum was a co-developer. The charges stem from alleged bribes – in the form of donations to political action committees – that were made in order to speed up development of that project.

All four defendants maintain their innocence and say the charges against them are politically motivated.

Both sides will spend the rest of this week working on jury instructions. After that, court will be dark because of several juror absences and Smith’s two week vacation. Closing arguments are expected to begin Aug. 14.