Jury convicts Bay Area man of stalking police officer

A Dixon man convicted of stalking a Dixon police officer will return to Solano County Superior Court next week to argue for his release on bail pending his sentencing in March.

Harlen West, 24, is one of two men arrested charged in the case in which prosecutors say they engaged in harassment of officer Aaron Williams on numerous occasions in 2022 including an incident in December 2022 where West and Luis Flores, also of Dixon, “threatened Officer Williams that he would suffer beatings and announced loudly the officer’s wife’s name, address and the vehicle she drove, including make, model and license number.”

Other incidents, prosecutors said, included yelling obscenities at Williams while he was on duty, an incident in which West “was observed throwing gravel” at the officer while he was in his patrol car.

Williams testified at West’s trial, in addition to other officers who observed the defendant’s harassing conduct throughout the year, the District Attorney’s Office said in a release. A Solano County Superior Court jury deliberated for just a few minutes over two hours before returning a guilty verdict on Feb. 11. Judge Janice M. Williams ordered West back to Solano County Jail, though he had been out on bail during the trial.

Alternative Public Defender Sayuri Takagawa subsequently filed a motion to have his custody reviewed and to have West released on bail, arguing that West made all of his court appearances without failure in the past and citing letters submitted by his supporters.

Deputy District Attorney Douglass Pharr, in a response, noted the judge had ruled West a “risk” and found that the allegations against him were serious in ordering him back to jail. “After being convicted who knows how he may act, given his insistence he did nothing wrong,” Pharr wrote.

Judge Williams is scheduled to hear the bail arguments on Monday, Feb. 23, at 8:30 a.m.

West is scheduled to return to court for Judgement and Sentencing on March 12 at 8:30 a.m.

Flores had previously reached a plea agreement in the case, pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of threatening a public officer on Jan. 20.

Meanwhile, the District Attorney’s Office said it is taking threats and stalking incidents seriously and noted “if you or someone you know has been a victim of stalking and needs assistance from an advocate,” they can call (707) 784-6827.