Fresno city council president appears in court on felony extortion charge. Here’s what happened
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Original story below:
Fresno City Council President Nelson Esparza pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a felony count of attempted extortion.
Prosecutors in July charged Esparza with one felony count of attempted extortion and one misdemeanor count of attempting to violate the city charter. The complaint alleges Esparza threatened the employment of former Fresno City Attorney Doug Sloan, who later left his post for a similar job in Santa Monica.
Esparza has maintained his innocence and vowed to remain in office and complete his duties as council president.
Esparza’s colleague, Councilmember Garry Bredefeld, first made the allegation publicly in May. Esparza sued Bredefeld for defamation but later dropped the case.
Fresno County District Attorney investigators primarily collected testimony from Sloan and three people who corroborated his story as evidence to charge Esparza with felony extortion.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, 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 Miguel Arias, Nelson Esparza, Tyler Maxwell and Esmeralda Soria, all Democrats, often form the majority vote on action items and are broadly considered the council majority. Councilmembers Garry Bredefeld is the lone Republican on the council, and Councilmembers Luis Chavez and Mike Karbassi, also Democrats, sometimes cast the swing votes.
Nelson returns to Fresno County Superior Court on Nov. 2 . A preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 10.
This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 9:54 AM.