Official arraignment of the people arrested for climbing into one hundred year-old trees in an attempt to prevent the county of Los Angeles from destroying those trees in Arcadia last month was postponed.
The new date, February 18, will give the defendants’ attorney time to gather some additional needed information for the proceedings to begin. Asked what the charges were, Quigley said “They piled on a lot.”
Only two of four activists in Arcadia woodlands appeared Thursday in Alhambra Superior Court. John Quigley Julia Jaye Posin appeared before the judge as ordered. Andrea Bowers was also scheduled for arraignment Thursday but was not present for her first appearance .
Julia Posin again described in vivid detail how the county workers and subcontractors destroyed the trees around her and came within inches of hurting her with the giant wrecking machines that destroyed the trees. “We were screaming at the top of our lungs…they finally stopped a few inches away from us. I was really scared for my life.” Posin said.
Speaking after their court appearance outside the courthouse, Quigley, Posin and Arcadia resident Cam Stone spoke with local media about the process and what they plan on doing next.
Stone spoke of a meeting which was held last Saturday at Eaton Canyon in an effort to combine forces, as it were, and try to prevent this from ever happening again. He also said that he as made an official public records request for any and all correspondence regarding the project that resulted in the elimination of 11 acres of pristine woodland. He and others including those arrested plan on legal action against the county and the contractors who destroyed the Oaks.
Quigley and Posin both agreed that knowledge is power and that they are determined to get to the bottom of the matter and find out what happened, why and how to prevent similar things from happening again.
The three activists, along with Travis Jochimsen, were arrested on multiple charges. The fourth man arreseted last January was not scheduled to be arraigned Thursday .
Jochimsen spent a little extra time in Temple City Station jail after his arrest due to an outstanding warrant.