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Editor’s note (added on Nov. 24, 2021):
The story below has been edited to remove the name and references to an individual whose case was dismissed in March, 2021 by the District Attorney’s office due to lack of evidence. The DA declined numerous attempts by the Voice to obtain an explanation for its actions in the case. The court record dismissing the charges states that witnesses in the case refused to cooperate and invoked their 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
In light of the ongoing potential for damage to that person’s reputation, the Voice has elected to remove the name and all references to the now-withdrawn allegations against that individual in all of the stories it published about this case.
Two other defendants took plea deals. Steven Carling pleaded no contest to felony assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and misdemeanor criminal threats, and was sentenced to 224 days in county jail and three years of probation. Lori Walston pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of being accessory to a crime and was sentenced to 60 days in county jail and three years of probation.
A San Jose man involved in a brazen apartment break-in intended to force out a family accepted a plea deal and awaits sentencing in March, according to court documents.
Steven Carling, 53, pleaded no contest on Jan. 23 to assault with a deadly weapon — a felony — as well as two misdemeanors for making criminal threats and attempting to prevent victims from contacting police. The three counts carry a maximum prison sentence of four years, and do not include a first-degree burglary charge originally sought by prosecutors.
Court minutes and the plea deal form show Carling has agreed to three years of formal probation as well as current time served as of Jan. 23 — about five months. Prosecutors in the case did not immediately respond to the Voice’s request for comment.
Carling was one of five people involved in what police described as a conspiracy to illegally oust renters from an apartment on Rock Street in August last year. [Portion removed.]
The apartment was occupied at the time by a married couple and two children, who had been living in the apartment for only a few weeks. During the attack, the family escaped through a back door and was found a short distance away on Rengstorff Avenue.
[Portion removed.]
Carling’s role in the operation was one of brute force: Police say witnesses and one of the accomplices — a friend of Carling — confirmed that he tried to force his way into the apartment by striking the front door, though the stories on how this was carried out differ. The friend told officers that Carling did not have any weapons or tools, and had knocked first to warn renters to get out of the way because he intended to kick down the door.
The victims painted a different picture, describing how Carling attacked the door and splintered the wood. At one point he began thrusting a knife through a crack, nearly stabbing the father of the family who was bracing the door from the other side. Police arriving at the apartment saw Carling still holding a metal object that matched the description of the knife, and officers say his actions amounted to assault with a deadly weapon.
Carling was released from county jail on his own recognizance on Jan. 23 on condition that he agree to appear in court for sentencing on March 20. He served a previous prison term after his 2012 conviction for felony possession of a stolen vehicle in Santa Clara County.
[Portion removed.]
