Room 64 of the new Shasta County Courthouse awaits Honorable Stephen H. Baker’s decision regarding two petitioner’s restraining order requests.
On this Super Tuesday Primary Election Day in downtown Redding, the Shasta County Elections Office saw a steady stream of voters who braved the cold and rain to drop off their ballots in person.
March 4 Election Day photo by Doni Chamberlain.
Meanwhile, at 1:30 p.m. in the new Shasta County Courthouse just a few blocks away, Honorable Judge Stephen H. Baker presided over a combined temporary restraining order hearing that was scheduled following an initial hearing a few weeks ago.
More than two hours later Baker handed down a pair of decisions that yielded two victors.
Technically the hearing was intended to hear four restraining order petitions: Steven King v. Carlos Zapata, Steven King v. Richard Gallardo, Steven King v. Jesse Lane, and Jesse Lane v. Steven King.
From left, Jesse Lane, Carlos Zapata and Steven King swear to tell the whole truth during the hearing. Respondent Richard Gallardo was absent. Photo by Doni Chamberlain
On the right side of the courtroom chambers more than a dozen people sat in support of Zapata and Lane. Many were prepared to offer testimony against King, if offered the opportunity. The courtroom spectators included a veritable who’s who of Shasta County politics, such as District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones and his wife Laurie, Katie and Authur Gorman, Lori Bridgeford, Maggie McGrath, Dolores Lucero, Lindsi Haynes, Leslie Sawyer and Nathan Pinkney. Part way through the hearing attorney Shon Northam showed up, too.
As with the Feb. 20 hearing, when the judge did a roll call to determine if all parties were present, Richard Gallardo was absent. When Baker asked King if he’d served Gallardo papers regarding the intended hearing, King said he’d been unsuccessful as he believed Gallardo was aware of the service attempt, and was intentionally evading the process.
Baker gave King the option of either dismissing King’s petition against Gallardo, or King could continue trying to serve Gallardo for a future hearing. When King chose the latter, Baker selected another King v. Gallardo hearing for later this month.
For several minutes Baker read instructions and provided information regarding temporary restraining order petitions, such as matters pertaining to evidence, and the burden of proof.
King was the first to present his evidence to convince Baker to grant King’s request for restraining orders against Zapata and Lane.
Steven King makes his case that Honorable Stephen H. Baker should grant restraining orders against Carlos Zapata and Jesse Lane.
It was not King’s finest hour. King provided no video or audio evidence, or affidavits. When asked if he had any witnesses, King said no, because he didn’t want his friends subjected to any trouble. King said his neighbors had been scared for four years because of people who’d threatened and harassed King at their Redding trailer park.
To Baker’s myriad questions seeking clarification about possible threats of violence, King bounced around and provided a mass amount of sometimes unrelated details regarding everything from Facebook Messenger, Facebook messages, private Facebook and public Facebook, to Rumble, Crime 2.0, podcasts, to State of Jefferson leaders, and fake profiles with at least three other Steven King identities, all with different middle names, none of which, according to King, belonged to the Steven King participating in Tuesday’s hearing.
King spoke of being defamed by people who falsely accused him of being, among other things, a pedophile, a wife-beater and child-beater.
At times while King spoke, Zapata and Lane grinned, grimaced, and shook their heads. At one point Zapata turned his head slightly over his right shoulder toward the spectators, rolled his eyes and used his right index finger to circle near his ear – the international sign to describe someone as crazy.
King often got off track, and failed to emphasize more dramatic evidence, such as Zapata’s text message to King that said, “Consider yourself dead.”
Likewise, King didn’t present the podcast where Zapata and co-host Woody Clenenden laughed and bragged about paying King a visit. King also didn’t show photos of Lane in his truck outside King’s home.
Lane and Zapata’s turn
Temporary restraining order respondents Carlos Zapata and Jesse Lane listen to Honorable Stephen H. Baker speak at the men’s Feb. 20 hearing.
After Baker was satisfied that King had no further evidence, it was Lane and Zapata’s turn to speak and present evidence to dispute King’s allegations.
Zapata said he preferred to read a statement. He said the hearing was a waste of time, and he had no desire to have anything to do with King, whom he described as mentally ill.
Zapata admitted to sending the threatening text message to King, but Zapata justified it because he said King had called his business multiple times with profane threatening language, included one incident when Zapata’s then-17-year-old daughter answered the phone, and was subjected to King’s threats and foul language. Zapata said King called and threatened to blow up his Red Bluff restaurant because Zapata’s business remained open during the pandemic.
“There’s not a man in this world who wouldn’t confront King after verbally assaulting his employees, and especially his teenage daughter,” Zapata said. “Not to mention my employees were afraid to come to work, affecting my business and my livelihood.”
Evidence of King’s expletive-laced emails that he’d sent to scores of recipients, including Lane and Zapata, turned the tables to where King was the perpetrator, and the email recipients were the victims. In one particular wince-worthy moment, Judge Baker calmly read aloud one of King’s emails with a string of King’s words so obscene that a woman sitting in the courtroom with two children covered their ears.
One of the most damning turning points in the hearing consisted of Lane’s video evidence that showed King in a truck outside Lane’s home where King laid on the horn and yelled profanities to Lane within earshot of Lane’s wife and children.
Lane and Zapata both mentioned possible racist rhetoric, including when King told Zapata he should be deported back to wherever he came from, and called Zapata the n-word, and other racial epithets.
One video Lane provided took place at a Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting that showed an irate King yelling at Gallardo as Jon Knight filmed the exchange. In one part of the video, King yells that he’s not afraid of Gallardo.
Toward the end of the hearing, Zapata mentioned Gallardo, someone he said he wasn’t a fan of. He asked the judge to not lump King’s allegations about Gallardo in with Zapata and Lane’s. The judge agreed.
Finally, Baker announced his decisions. First, citing King for providing insufficient evidence, Baker dismissed King’s request for restraining orders against Zapata and Lane, and said they were the prevailing parties.
Next, he granted Lane a three-year restraining order against King.
The hearing was over. As people exited the courtroom, Lane uttered three words.
“Justice was served.”
King’s turn
Steven King photo by Doni Chamberlain.
Hours after the hearing, A News Cafe reached out to King for a comment about the judge’s decision. Here is an excerpt of King’s statement:
“Today was the first day of the rest of my life. I took a roll of the dice. I told 100% truth to 50% lies. Having a legal team would have been cool, but fuck it.
I promised myself to look into myself in 2024, and to tell my story ending, here, in Shasta, and put an end to trying to save America, and save myself, my future, and to continue travel and being happy in my deserved retirement.
I just did that. The future is open. I wish Carlos and Jesse the best. It is what it is. It is not over for Shasta County, but it is for me, Homeless Stevie.
I’m hoping for even more good news for Shasta, when the elections are over. Carry on, and happy New Year everybody!
‘I am what I am and that’s all that I am’. – Popeye the Sailor Man.”
