A Redding man who was arrested and charged last year with beating and choking his wife, attempting to kill her and abusing his 5-year-old son, has been released of all charges against him ― without making a plea deal to lesser charges and without facing trial.
The Shasta County District Attorney's Office filed charges in Shasta County Superior Court against Brett Andrew Kelly Epps, 34, of Redding in May of last year. But the original charges were dismissed on March 25 of this year because a courtroom and a judge were not available to conduct a trial, according to the DA's office.
Under California law, defendants must face trial within a specified time frame, the DA's office said. Shortly after a judge dismissed the charges against Epps in March, the district attorney refiled the case against him. But again, no courtroom or judge was available for a trial, so charges were dismissed again last week, over the objections of the DA's office, officials with that agency said.
The district attorney was unable to re-file charges after the second dismissal, the DA's office said. Epps spent more than a year in jail awaiting trial, but he has been released and no longer faces charges, according to his attorney, Matthew Izzi of Redding.
“Courtroom availability has been an ongoing issue for several years in Shasta County, specifically since March 2022 after the courts fully resumed from the pandemic. This is not just a local issue. This is a statewide issue that many courts are facing. We have needed additional judicial positions for years,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Sarah Murphy said in an email.
Judges have had to dismiss 16 felony criminal cases in 2024 due to a shortage of judges and courtrooms, according to Briona Sisneros, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.
Superior Court Executive Officer Melissa Fowler-Bradley said the California Judicial Council assesses court operations statewide every two years. In 2022, state officials determined that Shasta County still needed two additional judges to keep up with the number of cases being filed.
Shasta County courts process about 45,000 cases a year, including civil, criminal, small claims and traffic cases, she said.
In 2023, there were 2,094 new felonies filed in Shasta County, Fowler-Bradley said. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, there were 52 felony trials and nine misdemeanor trials in the county, she said.
The Judicial Council determined another 1,900 judges are needed statewide. The California Legislature recently passed a bill authorizing 26 judges statewide. The bill would have provided one of the two judges the Judicial Council recommended for Shasta County, Fowler-Bradley said.
However, funding for the additional 26 judges was not provided by the legislature, she said. Izzi said his client suffered when he asserted his right to a trial, but never got one.
"So everyone cries and screams about some injustice, but from Mr. Epps' his perspective, he sat in jail for over a year, waiting for his day in court that never really came," Izzi said.
He also disagreed that a shortage of judges and courtrooms led to case being delayed, forcing it to be dismissed. There were other delays caused by witnesses and evidence availability, Izzi said.
Epps was arrested in May 2023 after a woman reported that he called his wife at a domestic violence shelter and lured her to their home where he allegedly beat her and choked her to the point she nearly lost consciousness, according to documents filed with the criminal case.
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Their 5-year-old son was in the room when the alleged incident took place, according to court documents.
Epps was charged with premeditated attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, assault causing great bodily injury, making criminal threats, corporal injury to a spouse, child abuse and false imprisonment.
He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
The woman was at the shelter on May 4, 2023 when Epps allegedly called her and told her someone broke into their home and ransacked the place, according to district attorney's office reports filed in court. He allegedly told her he wanted to meet her there so they could clean up the mess.
She offered to come to their house with her father and their 5-year-old son, but Epps said didn't want anyone else there, according to the DA's report.
The woman went to the house with their son and met Epps there, according to court documents. She walked in and saw broken items on the floor and she "asked him what the bedroom looked like because he said they threw paint all over the walls in our room and I walked into the bedroom and I didn't see any paint. So I walked further into the room to where the bathroom is to see if it was back there and that is when he shut the door on me."
"He told me I was stupid for coming home, because he was going to kill me," according to the DA's report. At that point, Epps also allegedly took her phone, the report says.
"He told me he was going to kill me and he grabbed my throat, threw me to the ground and started choking me," she reportedly said. She said the pressure on her throat was a seven out of 10 and she could not breathe.
She got tunnel vision, and she felt like she was "going to pass out at that point," she said. Their son was screaming and banging on the door to the room and after a minute Epps let him in, the report says. The boy ran to his mother, but Epps continued to strike her, the report says.
Izzi said his client was not guilty of the charges and he and Epps disagreed with the woman's version of the events. He said he had hoped to prove Epps was not guilty, but without a trial the facts will not be weighed, he said.
"Obviously, I'm happy for my client, having his case ultimately dismissed. But hearing not guilty, which was something Mr. Epps had expected, is definitely a more satisfying result," Izzi said.
Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!
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