JUSTICE IS SERVED!! THE COURT HAS DELIVERED A GUILTY VERDICT AND WE FINALLY HAVE THE ACCOUNTABILITY WE FOUGHT SO HARD FOR!! THANK YOU ALL FOR STANDING WITH US TO PROTECT OUR VINEYARDS AND OUR HARD WORK!!
September 24, 2015
Speak out to the Napa DA in support of just punishment for felons who steal grapes
Final supporters
VINTNERS & NAPA VALLEY RESIDENTS- PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT AND READ THIS LETTER ABOUT OUR CASE WITH OUR FORMER VINEYARD MANAGER. WE NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT FOR JUSTICE.
Dear Fellow Vintners & Napa Valley Residents:
I have been growing grapes and making wine here in Napa Valley since 1990. You may have read that my former vineyard manager, Jeff Hill of the Hill Wine Company, LLC, was arrested for stealing grapes from my vineyards after harvests on both October 17 and October 21, 2014. On October 21, 2014 at 2:00 a.m., Mr. Hill was caught stealing my Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the harvest at our Oakville Vineyard as he diverted trucks to his own winery. We became aware of the theft that occurred on October 21st based upon information provided by Mr. Hill’s employees. We were also informed that Mr. Hill had previously stolen grapes from our Howell Mountain Vineyard on October 17th. While we were able to recover the grapes stolen on October 21st, we never recovered the grapes stolen on October 17th. The grapes that were stolen and not recovered were very valuable. With those grapes, we make wine that is sold for $195 a bottle. We lost grapes that would have produced 375 cases of wine thus resulting in a loss that exceeds $800,000.
As a result of the arrest, Mr. Hill was charged with two felonies for grand theft. The criminal case against Mr. Hill is known as the case of The People v. Jeffrey James Hill filed in Napa County Superior Court, Case No. CR169869. Mr. Hill's arrest was chronicled in both the New York Times and the Napa Register.
On July 14, 2015, the District Attorney’s Office entered into a plea agreement with Mr. Hill wherein Mr. Hill pled guilty to the theft that occurred on October 21st and, the charge for the theft on October 17th was dismissed. A copy of the plea agreement is attached. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 11, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. in Department E of the Napa County Superior Court located at 1111 3rd Street in Napa, California, Judge Mark S. Boessenecker presiding. At the hearing, Mr. Hill will ask that his felony conviction be reduced to a misdemeanor.
I intend to oppose any reduction of the crime from a felony to a misdemeanor. Attached hereto is a copy of the letter that I submitted to the Court in support of a felony conviction including incarceration.
I believe that the investigation, prosecution and sentencing in this case affects every vintner in the wine business. Our businesses demand protection. One way that we obtain that protection is for potential criminals to know that the theft of grapes is a felony that results in incarceration. If Mr. Hill is allowed to avoid jail time and only receive a misdemeanor conviction, then our County sets a precedent of minor punishment for what are major crimes against our businesses. Given the value of our grapes and our wine, potential criminals may decide to steal our grapes because the economic benefit of the crime outweighs the risk of the minor punishment that may result if caught. I do not want this message to be conveyed. Instead, I want the law to be a strong deterrent against such crimes so that potential criminals know that they will be convicted of a felony and sent to jail for stealing our grapes.
If you agree, I ask that you submit your opinion to the Court before the sentencing hearing on August 11. Any letters of support should be sent by email to Jennifer Morowit at [email protected] and addressed to The Honorable Mark S. Boessenecker, Napa County Superior Court, 1111 Third Street, Courtroom E, Napa, California 94559. You can also sign and leave your comments on this petition in support.
Sincerely,
Dave Del Dotto
Del Dotto Vineyards
Updates
August 2, 2015
WE JUST CRUSHED OUR GOAL OF 1,000 SIGNATURES!! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE AND I AM BLOWN AWAY BY THE STRENGTH OF THIS COMMUNITY!! NAPA STANDS WITH US FOR JUSTICE AND WE ARE NOT SLOWING DOWN NOW!!
Reached 1,000 supporters
August 1, 2015
Reached 100 supporters
July 23, 2015
672 Comments
As a Santa Cruz Mountains winery employee, I find it appalling that a vineyard manager would steal grapes from the owner. I not only disagree with the dropped charge but totally oppose any reduction for the remaing charge. It should stay as a felony.
This should not be allowed to be dropped to a misdemeanor. If taken lightly by the court, this could be the next "copper wire" scam where under the cover of darkness, theives steal valuable grapes for no punishment but a slap on the wrist.
I hope mr. Hill is punished to the full extent of the law regarding the theft of the grapes. in my mind, stealing $800,000+ worth of grapes is the same as stealing $800,000 from the bank. Stealing is stealing and this should be treated as a felony.
The theft of grapes for one's own wine production for use for sale to the public is tantamount to wine fraud or selling counterfeit wine. It is insidious and should be strongly discouraged - especially under the circumstances of this case.
Given the reports of many other criminal acts by Mr. Hill, this admitted theft was not a one time mistake but only one instance of many in an extensive pattern of criminal behavior. Punishing a theft as large as this one as a felony seems appropriate.
Let me guess. Was this a sudden out of the clear blue sky a decision for a dead of the night pick only a few hours before harvest? Same thing happened to my vineyard. Suddenly 10 tons of my outstanding grapes were gone and off my property. Letting these low-life scum-bags off with a slap on the wrist spreads like a fourth stage cancer. It eats the owner and vineyard alive and all the while the vineyard manager is laughing in your face that he got away with it. There are always ways to track down those very special, unusual wines. My grapes don't sell in the level of the gentleman's petition, but they do sell for $50.00 a bottle and it was a great loss to me to lose my grapes let alone the great disappointment for my buyers who were reduced to 38% less this year than last. It all boils down to absolute arrogance, greed and feeling nothing can touch them. They plot this all out months ahead of time. It is not a rash, last minute decision. Already in big trouble and willing to take the risk of not being discovered. Somebody always tells.
This needs to be a felony. Send the message to others .....consequences should be harsh to deter more acts of this kind.
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JUSTICE IS SERVED!! THE COURT HAS DELIVERED A GUILTY VERDICT AND WE FINALLY HAVE THE ACCOUNTABILITY WE FOUGHT SO HARD FOR!! THANK YOU ALL FOR STANDING WITH US TO PROTECT OUR VINEYARDS AND OUR HARD WORK!!
September 24, 2015
Speak out to the Napa DA in support of just punishment for felons who steal grapes
Final supporters
VINTNERS & NAPA VALLEY RESIDENTS- PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT AND READ THIS LETTER ABOUT OUR CASE WITH OUR FORMER VINEYARD MANAGER. WE NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT FOR JUSTICE.
Dear Fellow Vintners & Napa Valley Residents:
I have been growing grapes and making wine here in Napa Valley since 1990. You may have read that my former vineyard manager, Jeff Hill of the Hill Wine Company, LLC, was arrested for stealing grapes from my vineyards after harvests on both October 17 and October 21, 2014. On October 21, 2014 at 2:00 a.m., Mr. Hill was caught stealing my Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the harvest at our Oakville Vineyard as he diverted trucks to his own winery. We became aware of the theft that occurred on October 21st based upon information provided by Mr. Hill’s employees. We were also informed that Mr. Hill had previously stolen grapes from our Howell Mountain Vineyard on October 17th. While we were able to recover the grapes stolen on October 21st, we never recovered the grapes stolen on October 17th. The grapes that were stolen and not recovered were very valuable. With those grapes, we make wine that is sold for $195 a bottle. We lost grapes that would have produced 375 cases of wine thus resulting in a loss that exceeds $800,000.
As a result of the arrest, Mr. Hill was charged with two felonies for grand theft. The criminal case against Mr. Hill is known as the case of The People v. Jeffrey James Hill filed in Napa County Superior Court, Case No. CR169869. Mr. Hill's arrest was chronicled in both the New York Times and the Napa Register.
On July 14, 2015, the District Attorney’s Office entered into a plea agreement with Mr. Hill wherein Mr. Hill pled guilty to the theft that occurred on October 21st and, the charge for the theft on October 17th was dismissed. A copy of the plea agreement is attached. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 11, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. in Department E of the Napa County Superior Court located at 1111 3rd Street in Napa, California, Judge Mark S. Boessenecker presiding. At the hearing, Mr. Hill will ask that his felony conviction be reduced to a misdemeanor.
I intend to oppose any reduction of the crime from a felony to a misdemeanor. Attached hereto is a copy of the letter that I submitted to the Court in support of a felony conviction including incarceration.
I believe that the investigation, prosecution and sentencing in this case affects every vintner in the wine business. Our businesses demand protection. One way that we obtain that protection is for potential criminals to know that the theft of grapes is a felony that results in incarceration. If Mr. Hill is allowed to avoid jail time and only receive a misdemeanor conviction, then our County sets a precedent of minor punishment for what are major crimes against our businesses. Given the value of our grapes and our wine, potential criminals may decide to steal our grapes because the economic benefit of the crime outweighs the risk of the minor punishment that may result if caught. I do not want this message to be conveyed. Instead, I want the law to be a strong deterrent against such crimes so that potential criminals know that they will be convicted of a felony and sent to jail for stealing our grapes.
If you agree, I ask that you submit your opinion to the Court before the sentencing hearing on August 11. Any letters of support should be sent by email to Jennifer Morowit at [email protected] and addressed to The Honorable Mark S. Boessenecker, Napa County Superior Court, 1111 Third Street, Courtroom E, Napa, California 94559. You can also sign and leave your comments on this petition in support.
Sincerely,
Dave Del Dotto
Del Dotto Vineyards
Updates
August 2, 2015
WE JUST CRUSHED OUR GOAL OF 1,000 SIGNATURES!! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE AND I AM BLOWN AWAY BY THE STRENGTH OF THIS COMMUNITY!! NAPA STANDS WITH US FOR JUSTICE AND WE ARE NOT SLOWING DOWN NOW!!
Reached 1,000 supporters
August 1, 2015
Reached 100 supporters
July 23, 2015
672 Comments
I am a collector of 4500 bottles and this type of behavior with a misedenor conviction will cost the growers greatly in increased insurance and losses. this will increase the retail cost of wines unnecessarily if the crime benefit out ways the consequences.
As a Santa Cruz Mountains winery employee, I find it appalling that a vineyard manager would steal grapes from the owner. I not only disagree with the dropped charge but totally oppose any reduction for the remaing charge. It should stay as a felony.
This should not be allowed to be dropped to a misdemeanor. If taken lightly by the court, this could be the next "copper wire" scam where under the cover of darkness, theives steal valuable grapes for no punishment but a slap on the wrist.
I hope mr. Hill is punished to the full extent of the law regarding the theft of the grapes. in my mind, stealing $800,000+ worth of grapes is the same as stealing $800,000 from the bank. Stealing is stealing and this should be treated as a felony.
The theft of grapes for one's own wine production for use for sale to the public is tantamount to wine fraud or selling counterfeit wine. It is insidious and should be strongly discouraged - especially under the circumstances of this case.
Given the reports of many other criminal acts by Mr. Hill, this admitted theft was not a one time mistake but only one instance of many in an extensive pattern of criminal behavior. Punishing a theft as large as this one as a felony seems appropriate.
Let me guess. Was this a sudden out of the clear blue sky a decision for a dead of the night pick only a few hours before harvest? Same thing happened to my vineyard. Suddenly 10 tons of my outstanding grapes were gone and off my property. Letting these low-life scum-bags off with a slap on the wrist spreads like a fourth stage cancer. It eats the owner and vineyard alive and all the while the vineyard manager is laughing in your face that he got away with it. There are always ways to track down those very special, unusual wines. My grapes don't sell in the level of the gentleman's petition, but they do sell for $50.00 a bottle and it was a great loss to me to lose my grapes let alone the great disappointment for my buyers who were reduced to 38% less this year than last. It all boils down to absolute arrogance, greed and feeling nothing can touch them. They plot this all out months ahead of time. It is not a rash, last minute decision. Already in big trouble and willing to take the risk of not being discovered. Somebody always tells.
This needs to be a felony. Send the message to others .....consequences should be harsh to deter more acts of this kind.
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I am a collector of 4500 bottles and this type of behavior with a misedenor conviction will cost the growers greatly in increased insurance and losses. this will increase the retail cost of wines unnecessarily if the crime benefit out ways the consequences.