Jessica Andrea Gordon, 20, pleaded not guilty to charges of being an accessory after the fact, one count of shooting at an occupied vehicle, one count of permitting another person to shoot from a vehicle, and two counts of possessing Ecstasy and cocaine.The alleged gunman, 20-year-old Joseph Andrew Farnsworth of El Cerrito, also appeared in court Wednesday seeking an opportunity to post bail. Farnsworth has been held without bail since his arrest, and his attorneys asked Judge Kelly Simmons to set his bail at $500,000, citing his family ties in the East Bay.
Simmons set the bail at $2 million, and Farnsworth remained in custody Wednesday. Farnsworth has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, one count of shooting a firearm from a vehicle and one count of shooting at an occupied vehicle.
Gordon, who is free on bail, was ushered in and out of court through a side door because of the intense security concerns surrounding the case. Sheriff's officials have taken extra safety precautions because the murder victim, William Crompton Maclean, was a Hells Angels associate who was riding in a procession of Hells Angels when he was shot to death.
Sheriff's investigators have described the motive as road rage. Court documents filed in recent days provide new details about the investigation.
According to the documents, the shooting on May 24 occurred while Gordon was driving on northbound Highway 101 in a red Dodge Durango carrying Farnsworth and his girlfriend, an unidentified juvenile.
Farnsworth, for reasons unclear, allegedly pulled down the window in the back seat and fired two shots at the pickup truck in the next lane, according to a statement filed by sheriff's Detective Matt Stott. One bullet struck Maclean, who was in the passenger seat, in the chest, Stott said.
The driver of the pickup truck, Maclean's brother-in-law, Raymond Foakes of Petaluma, was not injured.Gordon and her passengers exited the freeway at Paradise Drive and hid in the area, investigators said. Foakes also took the Paradise Drive exit, trailed by 10 members of the Hells Angels on motorcycles, and called for help from the nearby California Highway Patrol office.Based on information provided by witnesses, sheriff's investigators began reviewing video surveillance tapes from the Golden Gate Bridge. The tapes showed a red Dodge Durango crossing the bridge shortly before the shooting, and investigators got its license plate number.The license plate traced back to a residence in Mill Valley. On the night of May 28, when investigators were serving a search warrant on the residence, Gordon drove up with a friend."Gordon admitted that she was driving the vehicle when the shots were fired," Stott said in his statement. "She said the person in the back of the vehicle is an acquaintance she knows with another friend. She admitted that the person who fired the shots was sitting in the back seat, rolled down the window and fired shots from a handgun."On May 31, sheriff's detectives served a search warrant on the Richmond residence where Farnsworth and his girlfriend live. Farnsworth's girlfriend confirmed that he fired the gun, and investigators arrested Farnsworth and seized a gun found under his bed, Stott said.
No charges have been filed against Farnsworth's girlfriend, said District Attorney Ed Berberian