Posted on 02/27/2007 3:51:28 PM PST by csvset
OAKLAND -- Nearly two years after she drove the getaway car for a teenager who had stabbed an elderly woman in Berkeley, a former juvenile hall guidance counselor was sentenced Tuesday.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge C. Don Clay ordered Hamaseh Kianfar, 32, to spend the next five years on probation, do 30 days of sheriff's work detail, which can include picking up trash on roadsides, and complete 2,000 hours of community service, such as volunteering for a nonprofit organization.
Her attorney, Laurel Headley, said Kianfar is ``an exemplary person who made a bad series of choices but otherwise has led an amazing life.'' Headley said Kianfar ``took responsibility from the beginning'' and has shown remorse for her actions.
Headley declined to comment on the sentence.
On the evening of March 16, 2005, a 75-year-old woman was walking from a film class at UC Berkeley to her home near the Berkeley Rose Garden when she was cut in the throat by 17-year-old Marilyn Webster, a girl who police later learned had mental illness and had spent much her life in group homes, foster care and juvenile hall.
As the woman lay bleeding profusely on the sidewalk, Kianfar drove the girl away, bought her Old Navy pink pants and other clothing to wear -- possibly to disguise her identity -- and did not notify police about the incident for roughly 15 hours.
The woman was taken to Highland Hospital for surgery. She survived and recovered from her injuries.
On Tuesday, Judge Clay said ``there's no excuse'' for Kianfar's conduct in driving the girl away from the scene and buying her new clothes, but that she may have saved others from harm by eventually calling police.
In December, Kianfar, who met the teen when she worked inside juvenile hall, pleaded no contest to the charge of accessory after the fact to assault with a deadly weapon. She has been free on bail since shortly after the attack.
With her plea, she worked out a deal to not spend any time in state prison. On Tuesday, Deputy District Attorney Connie Campbell unsuccessfully lobbied for county jail time for Kianfar.
The teen was initially charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon and pled guilty to assault charges in September 2005. She has been living at the Porterville Development Hospital, a state mental healthtreatment facility in the Sierra Foothills, since last summer and could be there for at least five more years.
Wire services contributed to this report. Contact Kristin Bender at kbender@angnewspapers.com.
What a joke.
Throat slashing... Helps the perp get away... Should homies in Oakland expect kid glove treatment ?
Berzerkeley Justice.
thats disgusting! what a joke!
Something tells me this homegirl ain't no Baptist.
Attorney Laurel Headley escorts her client Hamaseh Kianfar from Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland after an arraignment on the accessory to attempted murder charge in the recent Berkeley throat slashing case. Kianfar is a mental health worker in Alameda County Juvenile Hall who authorities say was with Marilyn Webster, 16, when she slashed an elderly woman in the Berkeley Hills in March. (Nick Lammers - STAFF)
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