August 5, 2004

Pollett murder case switches gears

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

The district attorney’s office announced in court on Friday that it would seek a grand jury hearing in the case of 22-year-old Anthony John Sanchez, who is charged with the murder of 18-year-old Leland High School senior Troy Pollett.

“The case will be continued again at this point,” explains District Attorney Cameron Bowman. “We will be pursuing a grand jury process, but it is a secret hearing and we can’t share the specifics at this point.”

Sanchez also faces a second charge of assault with a deadly weapon for the non-fatal stabbing of Kris Johnson after a fight erupted between the three men in a quiet Almaden neighborhood on March 20.

“A grand jury proceeding is not public, so you’re not going to hear what the witnesses will say,” explains public defender Ken Mandel. “I’m not allowed either. I won’t be representing him, as it doesn’t provide for the right to counsel. He [Sanchez] won’t be there either. It’s a very specific kind of process.”

Bowman says that with a preliminary hearing, both sides need to agree that they are ready and want to move ahead. However, the prosecution can request to proceed with a scheduled grand jury hearing if they feel the case is taking too long to get to trial or they fear that it would otherwise be impossible to explore exactly what happened and get to the truth.

“We didn’t get any indication from the defense that they were going to be prepared for a hearing in the foreseeable future and thought this was a better route to take,” Bowman says. “Sometimes with very complicated or sensitive cases, it’s easier to do it by way of a hearing like this. It’s also important in that we think there are a lot of witnesses who would be reluctant to tell the truth about what they know in a more open forum.”

Sanchez continues to be held without bail in the maximum-security unit of the Santa Clara County Jail and has reportedly told his family that he acted in self defense after being run off Bailey Road the night of the incident. And yet, Pollett witnesses are calling the attack unprovoked.

In Santa Clara County, the decision as to whether Sanchez will be charged with first- or second-degree murder will be determined by the jury after the case goes to trial.

If reports indicating that Pollett was stabbed multiple times are true, it could cast considerable doubt on Sanchez’s self-defense claim. However, the case is still being investigated and police files—including autopsy reports—are under seal. While unable to reveal any details of the case, Bowman says they don’t believe it to be self defense.

“The only thing I feel comfortable saying right now is that we believe it’s a murder case,” he says.