Kelly Thomas trial: Family, strangers recall violent encounters

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A supporter falls to the ground crying at a memorial at “Kelly’s Corner” after two former Fullerton police officers were found not guilty of murder in the 2011 death of transient Kelly Thomas in Fullerton. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Kathy Thomas, mother of Kelly Thomas, receives a hug from a supporter in front of a memorial at “Kelly’s Corner.” (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Protesters march outside the Fullerton police station after two former officers were acquitted in the killing of Kelly Thomas. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Friends, family and supporters stand at “Kelly’s Corner” on Monday night after two former Fullerton police officers were found not guilty of the murder of Kelly Thomas. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Ron and Kathy Thomas embrace outside the Santa Ana Courthouse Monday after two Fullerton police officers were found not guilty in the murder of their son Kelly. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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As supporters hug, Kathy Thomas sits in a chair outside the Santa Ana Courthouse on Monday after two Fullerton police officers were found not guilty in the murder of her son Kelly. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Ron Thomas, the father of slain Kelly Thomas, hugs Marlena Carrillo outside the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana after the arraignment hearing. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A supporter of Kelly’s Army pays his respects at the site in Fullerton where Kelly Thomas was involved in an altercation with police that led to his death. (Barbara Davidson / The Los Angeles Times)

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Members of Kelly’s Army chant “two down four to go” outside the Fullerton Police Department after two officers were charged in connection with the death of Kelly Thomas. Thomas, a schizophrenic, homeless man, died five days after an altercation with police. (Barbara Davidson / The Los Angeles Times)

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Charlotte Cianciola of Buena Park gets emotional as the District Attorney announces that criminal charges have been filed against two of the six Fullerton police officers involved in the beating death of Kelly Thomas. (GIna Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas at the news conference in Santa Ana where he announced charges would be brought against two Fullerton police officers in the death of Kelly Thomas. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Christine Walker, center, of Fullerton, joins a crowd outside the Santa Ana civic center watching a TV broadcast of Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas’ news conference. (GIna Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Staff members listen as their boss Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas addresses a press conference announcing charges against two Fullerton police officers for the beating death of 37-year-old homeless man Kelly Thomas. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Larry Dewitt Williams, 56, gathers with other supporters in front of the Orange County district attorney’s office to show support for Kelly Thomas’ family. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Ron Thomas embraces Susan Wright after she delivered an emotional plea to the Fullerton City Council for better treatment of the mentally ill. Thomas and hundreds of supporters attended the meeting hours after the release of the coroner’s report on the death of his son, Kelly, at the hands of Fullerton police. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Fullerton City Council member Sharon Quirk-Silva, left, and Fullerton resident Erin Lewis, right, comfort Cathy Thomas after the council voted to retain an outside investigator to look into the death of Thomas’ son, Kelly, after a confrontation with Fullerton police. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Cathy Thomas visits a memorial for her son Kelly at the Fullerton Transportation Center. She stops there several times a week to water the flowers and talk to people who pass by. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Fullerton Police Captain Kevin Hamilton, above, was named acting chief of police after Chief Michael Sellers went on medical leave in the wake of the death of Kelly Thomas in July. (Mark Boster/ Los Angeles Times)

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People outside the Fullerton police station protest the death of Kelly Thomas. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

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Gary Tayles, 45, of Los Angeles joins a group outside the Fullerton police station protesting the death of Kelly Thomas. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

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Cathy Thomas, left, shakes hands with Fullerton police officers who barricaded a street to make room for a demonstration protesting the beating and death of Kelly Thomas. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press)

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Fullerton Police Chief Michael Sellers talks with the city attorney before a City Council meeting. Many residents have called for him to resign. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

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An overflow crowd watches a TV monitor outside City Council chambers as the public voices outrage over the death of Kelly Thomas, 37, a schizophrenic homeless man who was killed during an altercation with Fullerton police on July 5. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

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An impromptu sidewalk memorial has been set up for Kelly Thomas, 37, a homeless schizophrenic man who died five days after a run-in with Fullerton police in early July at a bus depot off South Pomona Avenue. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Passersby stop to read notes left at a memorial for Kelly Thomas. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A woman holds a drawing of a police officer behind bars as Ron Thomas asks the Fullerton City Council for answers about his son Kelly’s death. Residents packed the council chambers and an overflow area for the Aug. 2 meeting. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Fullerton resident Michelle Kearney hugs Ron Thomas, father of Kelly Thomas. Residents packed the City Council chambers and an overflow area to express their outrage over the police beating of Kelly Thomas, who later died. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Cathy Thomas, mother of Kelly Thomas, listens to public comment during the Fullerton City Council meeting. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Residents stand and applaud as Ron Thomas is given more time to speak to the City Council about the police beating and subsequent death of his son, Kelly Thomas, last month. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

By Adolfo Flores

Dec. 12, 2013 12:13 PM PT

Defense attorneys for two Fullerton police officers charged with beating a mentally ill homeless man to death went through six witnesses in less than an hour Thursday, many of whom recalled violent encounters with the man, Kelly Thomas.

Attorneys for former officers Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli, who are charged in Thomas’ 2011 death, have previously said they planned to present evidence to show Thomas was not the docile victim the public has been led to believe he was after video of the beating surfaced.

The 33-minute video, which shows officers repeatedly striking Thomas with batons and also using a Taser, caused an uproar in Fullerton. Thomas, a schizophrenic homeless man who was a well-known fixture in the city, died five days after he clashed with police July 5, 2011.

Ramos is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, Cicinelli iwith involuntary manslaughter and excessive force.

The prosecution rested its case Wednesday, a week and a half after the trial began.

Among the witnesses defense attorneys called to the stand Thursday were some of Thomas’ own relatives, including his grandfather, Walter Dieball, who testified that in 1995, his grandson hit him over the head with a fireplace poker while he was watching television.

“I heard the fireplace tools rattling and I looked around and he had the poker in his hand and he hit me with it,” Dieball said.

Ramos’ attorney, John Barnett, asked Dieball if the poker was heavy, tapping his podium twice with a fireplace poker.

Dieball said it was.

An image of the fireplace poker taken after Kelly Thomas struck Dieball was projected onto a screen. It was bent.

Dieball said Thomas hit him another time on the head when he was on his knees attempting to get up and another time on the back as he fled into a room.

He told prosecutors he went into the room because it had a lock, a phone to call 911 and a gun for protection. Dieball, who was pushed to the stand in a wheelchair, wore a yellow ribbon worn by supporters of Thomas.

His mother, Cathy Thomas, said that in December 2010, her son grabbed her by the throat for several minutes.

“Did you previously testify that he held his hand on you for a couple of minutes on your neck?” said Barnett.

“Yes,” she said.

“And that you were yelling for him to stop?” Barnett said.

“Yes,” she replied.

Cathy Thomas, wearing a pin emblazoned with her son’s face and a yellow ribbon, said that after yelling at him to stop several times he finally let go. After the incident she sought a restraining order, asking that Kelly Thomas stay away from her house.

A man who asked Kelly Thomas to leave the site of a 2004 Christmas party because he was being disruptive told jurors the homeless man punched him on the chin.

In 2010, Samantha Pepin, who worked at a produce stand, said Kelly Thomas threw rocks at her after she told him to leave the area.

“He was throwing enormous rocks at me telling me he was going to kill me,” Pepin said. “He found a bar and was coming at me.”

Pepin said she chased him away with pepper spray and a machete. Kelly Thomas had fled into a fast-food restaurant bathroom by the time Anaheim police arrived.

He was placed under citizen’s arrest after both incidents.

Testimony is expected to continue Monday morning in the case. Judge William Froeberg said the case would likely go to jurors for deliberation the first week of January.

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Twitter: @AdolfoFlores3