Fresno City Council President Esparza in court facing extortion charge. Here’s the latest
Fresno City Council President Nelson Esparza appeared in Fresno County Superior Court on Tuesday to answer a felony extortion charge.
But the arraignment for the 32-year-old Democrat was postponed to Oct. 27. He did not enter a plea.
Attorneys for Esparza filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing the conversation the case is based on was confidential and attorney-client privileged. The motion also will be heard in court on Oct. 27.
“Mr. Esparza strongly denies the allegations and never intended to extort anyone, and we believe that will come out at the trial,” Esparza’s attorney, Mark Coleman, told reporters after the hearing.
Many people showed up to the hearing to support Esparza, including Fresno City Councilmembers Miguel Arias and Tyler Maxwell, a number of Esparza’s staffers and his family.
“I continue to be very humbled by the outpouring of community support that we’ve received and all the folks who showed up today on our behalf,” Esparza said after the hearing. “I think most folks in the community see this case certainly for what it is, but we are very pleased to be on the road toward resolving this case and having finally engaged and started the process.”
Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp’s office in July charged Esparza with one felony count of attempted extortion and one count of attempting to violate the city charter. The complaint alleges Esparza threatened the employment of former Fresno City Attorney Doug Sloan, who since left his post for a similar job in Santa Monica.
Esparza’s colleague, Councilmember Garry Bredefeld, first made the allegation publicly in May. Esparza sued Bredefeld for defamation but later dropped the case.
Esparza has denied any wrongdoing and addressed the issue from the dais during the July 21 Fresno City Council meeting. In his comments, he vowed to stay in office and continue to perform his duties as the city council president.
According to an affidavit filed earlier this summer, Sloan told investigators Esparza threatened to fire him if he did work for councilmembers outside the council majority. The conversation between Sloan and Esparza occurred in late April, one day after a closed session meeting in which Sloan’s job performance was reviewed.
Councilmembers Esparza, Miguel Arias, Tyler Maxwell and Esmeralda Soria, all Democrats, often form the majority vote on action items and are broadly considered the council majority. Councilmember Garry Bredefeld is the lone Republican on the council, and Councilmembers Luis Chavez and Mike Karbassi, also Democrats, sometimes cast the swing votes.
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 9:41 AM.