Justice For The Burleson's
Donation protected
THE BURLESON FAMILY NEEDS YOUR HELP...to fight back against San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and her SELF-SERVING REIGN OF TERROR AND MERCILESS PERSECUTION.
My name is Shelly Burleson and this is my family: my husband Jeff and three children Aaron (3), Ashley (5), and Chandler (7). They mean the entire world to me and fill my heart with a joy I never thought was possible. Everyday, I thank God for His blessings.
In 2011, shortly after Aaron was born, my husband Jeff was falsely accused, wrongfully arrested and dramatically overcharged with a VIOLENT FELONY (assault with a deadly weapon) AFTER he asserted his 2nd Amendment right to defend my children and I when a stranger pounded on our door for 20 minutes after dark. We feared for our safety that night; my husband met the stranger at our front door while holding his shotgun down and across his chest. He was simply being cautious in an effort to defend our home and our family after the Chelsea King and Amber DuBois slayings. This evil man later called the sheriff and falsely reported my husband 'burst out' of our home and chased him down the sidewalk with a shotgun.
That simply did NOT happen.
Shortly after my husband’s arrest, Bonnie Dumanis, the San Diego District Attorney, added a strike and firearms enhancements to the charge of Assault With A Deadly Weapon. Why? Because she was running for Mayor of San Diego at the time and wanted to increase her “94% Felony Conviction Rate”. If convicted, my husband faced up to 14.5 years in State Prison. We believe in our Rights and are Proud to be Americans; he was not going to plead guilty to a crime he didn’t commit, so the case went to trial 9 months later. The verdict was 'NOT GUILTY' of assault with a deadly weapon but 'GUILTY' on the charge of misdemeanor 'brandishing a firearm' due to several mistakes made in the courtroom by the prosecutor and the judge.
In 2011, out of more than over 16,000 charged in San Diego, there were ONLY 33 people found ‘NOT GUILTY’ by jury verdict. Thanks to my testimony and the testimony of one of the other five witnesses we found, each of whom corroborated my husband's account that the man was frightening and belligerent, the jury found Jeff ’NOT GUILTY' of the felony charge.
Since our original attorney didn’t file appeals, we hired a different attorney to appeal the misdemeanor conviction.
That attorney, Richard Huffman II (who we later discovered had been fired as a deputy DA by Bonnie Dumanis because of several DUI’s) NEVER filed the appeal, THEN tried to convince my husband he should “just take the 120 day custody sentence and move on with his life”. Huffman abandoned my husband in custody and left me alone with 3 young children (ages 4, 3, and 1) for three months.
IF ONLY HUFFMAN had filed the appeal and performed the job we paid him to do, my husband would have been free on bail pending the hearing on the appeal.
That's right. My husband NEVER should have had to serve ANY TIME AT ALL.
By God’s grace, the 4th District Court of Appeal allowed us to file a motion to appeal even though the time limit had expired, and in March of this year, they FINLLY agreed with my husband’s argument of self defense and REVERSED the guilty verdict. Justice was delayed, but justice was served.
NOT GUILTY on both counts! We were elated! After nearly three years and $300,000 - he had been vindicated at last.
Our excitement was short lived; in June of 2014, on Election Day, DA Bonnie Dumanis decided to re-try the case. There are no words to describe the frustration and exhaustion we feel after this harrowing experience, to have it start ALL OVER AGAIN. We have NO CHOICE BUT TO CONTINUE TO FIGHT!
We have been fighting for over three years. This has cost my family more than $300,000 in bail, attorney’s fees, lost wages and assorted other expenses; money we didn’t have in the first place. It has caused us unimaginable pain and suffering and now our funds are exhausted.
Jeff lost his job in early 2013. When the statute of limitations approached for filing a lawsuit against Huffman and his partners, he couldnt find an attorney to take his legal malpractice case, after all, who wants to represent a 'guilty' client anyway?
Jeff had no choice, he wrote the lawsuit himself, and in the ensuing months found he simply could no longer function at his job; he'd become obsessed with winning his case. He was diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety stemming from the overall incident. In April of this year, his disability compensation expired. That was ok, because he was vindicated with the Fourth District Court of Appeal decision. He was exhilirated, and found an exciting new job in May. As you can imagine, he lost it due to the stress and anxiety he suffered upon learning the DA was resuming their merciless campaign against us. He does not qualify for unemployment due to a 'technicality' in the CA EDD regulations.
The San Diego District Attorney PREY'S on the the poor and ignorant and has ruined thousands of lives by giving falsely accused criminal defendants NO CHOICE but to plead or face terrifyingly long sentences.
Our case was no exception; we sacrificed enormously to prove my husband's innocence - it took a relentless commitment and stole THREE YEARS OF OUR LIVES. Now the DA is 'upping the ante' by deciding to try him AGAIN on the same set of facts AFTER a higher court ALREADY RULED Jeff had an 'affirmative right to self-defense'.
At this time, we humbly ask for funds for basic living expenses BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY for attorney’s fees and costs (including expert witnesses, investigators, etc.) while we continue to fight her malicious and merciless persecution and try to get back on our feet.
My husband and I know that the most frightening thing about our situation is that if it can happen to us, it really could happen to anyone.
Would you consider showing your support by making a contribution? Its truly humbling and heart warming knowing our story matters in the hearts and minds of so many others across the country.
Perhaps you'd like to help but find yourself just as financially stressed as we are, we certainly understand. Would you forward this on to your friends and family?
My family and I humbly thank you for your consideration. God Bless.
My name is Shelly Burleson and this is my family: my husband Jeff and three children Aaron (3), Ashley (5), and Chandler (7). They mean the entire world to me and fill my heart with a joy I never thought was possible. Everyday, I thank God for His blessings.
In 2011, shortly after Aaron was born, my husband Jeff was falsely accused, wrongfully arrested and dramatically overcharged with a VIOLENT FELONY (assault with a deadly weapon) AFTER he asserted his 2nd Amendment right to defend my children and I when a stranger pounded on our door for 20 minutes after dark. We feared for our safety that night; my husband met the stranger at our front door while holding his shotgun down and across his chest. He was simply being cautious in an effort to defend our home and our family after the Chelsea King and Amber DuBois slayings. This evil man later called the sheriff and falsely reported my husband 'burst out' of our home and chased him down the sidewalk with a shotgun.
That simply did NOT happen.
Shortly after my husband’s arrest, Bonnie Dumanis, the San Diego District Attorney, added a strike and firearms enhancements to the charge of Assault With A Deadly Weapon. Why? Because she was running for Mayor of San Diego at the time and wanted to increase her “94% Felony Conviction Rate”. If convicted, my husband faced up to 14.5 years in State Prison. We believe in our Rights and are Proud to be Americans; he was not going to plead guilty to a crime he didn’t commit, so the case went to trial 9 months later. The verdict was 'NOT GUILTY' of assault with a deadly weapon but 'GUILTY' on the charge of misdemeanor 'brandishing a firearm' due to several mistakes made in the courtroom by the prosecutor and the judge.
In 2011, out of more than over 16,000 charged in San Diego, there were ONLY 33 people found ‘NOT GUILTY’ by jury verdict. Thanks to my testimony and the testimony of one of the other five witnesses we found, each of whom corroborated my husband's account that the man was frightening and belligerent, the jury found Jeff ’NOT GUILTY' of the felony charge.
Since our original attorney didn’t file appeals, we hired a different attorney to appeal the misdemeanor conviction.
That attorney, Richard Huffman II (who we later discovered had been fired as a deputy DA by Bonnie Dumanis because of several DUI’s) NEVER filed the appeal, THEN tried to convince my husband he should “just take the 120 day custody sentence and move on with his life”. Huffman abandoned my husband in custody and left me alone with 3 young children (ages 4, 3, and 1) for three months.
IF ONLY HUFFMAN had filed the appeal and performed the job we paid him to do, my husband would have been free on bail pending the hearing on the appeal.
That's right. My husband NEVER should have had to serve ANY TIME AT ALL.
By God’s grace, the 4th District Court of Appeal allowed us to file a motion to appeal even though the time limit had expired, and in March of this year, they FINLLY agreed with my husband’s argument of self defense and REVERSED the guilty verdict. Justice was delayed, but justice was served.
NOT GUILTY on both counts! We were elated! After nearly three years and $300,000 - he had been vindicated at last.
Our excitement was short lived; in June of 2014, on Election Day, DA Bonnie Dumanis decided to re-try the case. There are no words to describe the frustration and exhaustion we feel after this harrowing experience, to have it start ALL OVER AGAIN. We have NO CHOICE BUT TO CONTINUE TO FIGHT!
We have been fighting for over three years. This has cost my family more than $300,000 in bail, attorney’s fees, lost wages and assorted other expenses; money we didn’t have in the first place. It has caused us unimaginable pain and suffering and now our funds are exhausted.
Jeff lost his job in early 2013. When the statute of limitations approached for filing a lawsuit against Huffman and his partners, he couldnt find an attorney to take his legal malpractice case, after all, who wants to represent a 'guilty' client anyway?
Jeff had no choice, he wrote the lawsuit himself, and in the ensuing months found he simply could no longer function at his job; he'd become obsessed with winning his case. He was diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety stemming from the overall incident. In April of this year, his disability compensation expired. That was ok, because he was vindicated with the Fourth District Court of Appeal decision. He was exhilirated, and found an exciting new job in May. As you can imagine, he lost it due to the stress and anxiety he suffered upon learning the DA was resuming their merciless campaign against us. He does not qualify for unemployment due to a 'technicality' in the CA EDD regulations.
The San Diego District Attorney PREY'S on the the poor and ignorant and has ruined thousands of lives by giving falsely accused criminal defendants NO CHOICE but to plead or face terrifyingly long sentences.
Our case was no exception; we sacrificed enormously to prove my husband's innocence - it took a relentless commitment and stole THREE YEARS OF OUR LIVES. Now the DA is 'upping the ante' by deciding to try him AGAIN on the same set of facts AFTER a higher court ALREADY RULED Jeff had an 'affirmative right to self-defense'.
At this time, we humbly ask for funds for basic living expenses BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY for attorney’s fees and costs (including expert witnesses, investigators, etc.) while we continue to fight her malicious and merciless persecution and try to get back on our feet.
My husband and I know that the most frightening thing about our situation is that if it can happen to us, it really could happen to anyone.
Would you consider showing your support by making a contribution? Its truly humbling and heart warming knowing our story matters in the hearts and minds of so many others across the country.
Perhaps you'd like to help but find yourself just as financially stressed as we are, we certainly understand. Would you forward this on to your friends and family?
My family and I humbly thank you for your consideration. God Bless.
Organizer
Shelly Burleson
Organizer
Encinitas, CA
