DNA, video, other evidence enough for case in T.O. protester's death to go to trial

The case against a Moorpark man charged with the Nov. 6 death of a pro-Israel protester will go to trial after Ventura County Superior Court Judge Ryan Wright ruled Wednesday that prosecutors have compiled sufficient evidence to move forward.

Loay Alnaji, 50, is charged with involuntary manslaughter by an unlawful act and battery with serious bodily injury in the death of Paul Kessler, a 69-year-old from Thousand Oaks.

Alnaji, who worked at Moorpark College at the time of the incident, pleaded not guilty to both felony charges on Nov. 17, a day after he was arrested. He was released that evening after posting $50,000 bail, records show.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Courtney Lewis outlined the case against Alnaji over a two-day preliminary hearing featuring 18 witnesses.

After a Tuesday packed with testimony from investigators, the hearing resumed Wednesday morning with images of wounds to Kessler's face and a skull fracture on the back of his head and evidence that Kessler's blood was found on the rim of a megaphone Alnaji had used.

Prosecutors closed their presentation before noon with video from Kessler's smartphone showing his heated Nov. 5 encounter with Alnaji and other pro-Palestinian protesters.

The exchange happened in front of the Shell gas station on the northwest corner of Thousand Oaks and Westlake boulevards, an intersection that became a regular site for protests in the weeks after Hamas' deadly attack on Israel and Israel's deadly response.

The confrontation between Kessler, who is Jewish, and pro-Palestinian demonstrators that Sunday afternoon boiled over. Prosecutors allege that Alnaji hit Kessler across the face with a megaphone and knocked him down to the sidewalk, where he struck the back of his head.

The Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that Kessler died of blunt force injuries. He suffered a major wound to the back of his head and minor injuries to the left side of his face.

Ron Bamieh, Alnaji's attorney, said his client did strike at Kessler in an attempt to knock Kessler's outstretched phone away from his face, but that it was Kessler's pre-existing medical condition that caused him to fall.

Lewis said during her argument Wednesday that Kessler's fall could have had multiple causes but that the charge of involuntary manslaughter only requires Alnaji's role to be substantial.

The charges against Alnaji also include two special allegations that he personally inflicted great bodily injury. Prosecutors say Alnaji faces up to four years in prison.

The district attorney's office has not filed charges for any hate crime, though prosecutors said in a Wednesday statement they are continuing to review evidence."This evaluation is ongoing and comprehensive, but to date it has not revealed evidence to support a hate crime," the statement says.

While antisemitic hate speech was heard at the Nov. 5 rally, no evidence shows Alnaji using those words, according to the statement.

New video, autopsy evidence

During the first full day of preliminary hearings on Tuesday, Ventura County Sheriff's deputies laid out their investigation into Kessler's death, sharing photos from the scene of the incident and describing interviews with witnesses.

Wednesday brought testimony from Ventura County Assistant Chief Medical Examiner Othon Mena, who conducted Kessler's autopsy. For an expert review, Mena said, he also sent Kessler's brain to be examined by a pathologist.

Mena walked the courtroom through images from the autopsy showing bruising and cuts around Kessler's left eye, mouth and chin. Other images showed a jagged gash running across the back of Kessler's head and pools of dark red in Kessler's brain where the soft tissue took a heavy impact.

Kessler had prior health issues connected to his brain, Mena testified, including an inoperable, but benign tumor near his brain stem and an implanted shunt to drain excess fluid.

In response to questions from Bamieh, Mena said that Kessler's medical history indicates he could have had balance issues. Still, Mena said, he was confident it was Alnaji's alleged blow, not Kessler's medical condition, that sent him to the ground.

"There's an event that occurs where he is struck in the head, and shortly after he falls," Mena said. "I cannot disconnect that event."

Jeannine Aguirre, a forensic scientist with the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, testified that she inspected the megaphone with which Alnaji allegedly struck Kessler and found a red-brown stain on its rim that tested as blood.

She analyzed samples from the stain and two other areas on the megaphone rim and found DNA identical to Kessler's.

Prosecutors closed their presentation with a series of six short videos extracted from Kessler's iPhone and a 15-minute clip collected from the gas station's security camera.

Nearly all of the altercation is obscured in the security camera footage by the gas station's price marquee, but Palestinian flags and an Israeli flag can be seen poking above the top of the sign and demonstrators are visible moving around the sign.

The series of clips from Kessler's phone show him standing at first on a nearly empty corner. He's wearing a tan cap and blue and white striped shirt and carrying a large Israeli flag.

In the background, pro-Palestinian demonstrators can be heard chanting and as the series of clips proceeds, several join Kessler on the corner.

The final clip before Kessler appears to fall captures him engaging in a shouting match with the demonstrators next to him as he points his phone camera in their direction.

"Stop beheading babies," a voice, apparently Kessler's, says as the video turns toward a pro-Palestinian demonstrator in sunglasses and a hat. Prosecutors presented a zoomed-in version of the clip that appears to show Kessler reflected in the other man's dark lenses.

"You're a terrorist," someone yells.

"You're the terrorist," someone else yells back.

The camera pivots slightly to show Alnaji, with his megaphone pointed at Kessler. The video cuts off shortly after.

In her closing argument, Lewis said it was clear that Kessler made statements that "could have been offensive or insulting," but that his words would not justify a physical blow from Alnaji.

Alnaji's case is slated to return to court the morning of June 10 for arraignment.

Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Evidence enough for trial in case of Jewish protester's death