The Challenge
An off-duty Sheriff’s Deputy was the subject of a long criminal investigation. He was accused of several domestic violence incidents. During one of them, he was alleged to have fired a gun inside the family home. He was charged with felony corporal injury on a spouse (Penal Code 273.5) and felony negligent discharge of a firearm (Penal Code 246.3). Together the charges carried years in state prison, and the prosecution asked for it. The first decision was how he would be taken into custody, and we arranged a self-surrender.
Our Strategy
When we learned an arrest was coming, we negotiated with the detectives. Our client surrendered at the station on his own terms. He was not handcuffed in front of his neighbors or his colleagues. In court, we conducted our own investigation and found details the original investigation had overlooked. We presented that evidence and argued that prison was not necessary. The court agreed. Following a plea to the charges, our client served his entire sentence on house arrest and never spent a day in state prison.
The Result
PRISON AVOIDED; HOUSE ARREST GRANTED
Your Case Belongs at the Southwest Justice Center.
Your Defense Belongs Here.
If you were arrested in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Wildomar, Lake Elsinore, Winchester, or French Valley, your future will likely be decided at the Southwest Justice Center (SWJC) on Auld Road. In these courtrooms, local knowledge is the ultimate advantage. Since 1999, Nic Cocis has been a weekly fixture in the SWJC, appearing before the same judges and negotiating with the same Riverside County prosecutors for over 25 years. We don’t just know the law — we know the specific nuances, procedural quirks, and judicial tendencies of the Southwest District. Whether you are facing a felony or a misdemeanor, you need a firm that treats the Southwest Justice Center as its home turf.
