Juror bails De Vaul out of jail, tells KSBY why she did it

Posted: Nov 25, 2009 10:11 PM by Steve Adamson
Updated: Nov 3, 2011 12:31 PM

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After only 24 hours in jail, Sunny Acres Ranch owner Dan De Vaul is a free man. The person who bailed him out was none other than one of the jurors who helped convict him. Mary Partin says she couldn't justify how he got there in the first place. " I couldn't believe he was in jail, I couldn't believe he had been arrested. I just thought it was egregious. I just had to do something, I had to do the right thing and this was the right thing."

Partin claims she was bullied and harassed during the deliberations and never wanted to convict De Vaul . In the end, she felt pressured to go along with the others and went along with the decision to find him guilty of two code violations. She had wanted to vote 'not guilty' on all nine charges brought against him.

Thus, she posted his bail, putting out about $500 for it. Her reasons boil down to how she felt about what De Vaul was doing by helping the homeless and how others lost sight of the significance of that. "I had the opportunity to visit his facility last night and I had grown men hug me and cry because he was back with them," Partin said.

On Tuesday, De Vaul's lawyers filed an appeal on his conviction. However, the county says the appeal won't stop its enforcement efforts, according to Chief Code Enforcement Officer Art Trinidad. "It does not stay any actions that the county has. His appeal is actually a judicial appeal. It does not affect any new violations,or existing violations of county code."

Critics say De Vaul is taking advantage of the homeless by charging them to live in unsafe conditions. After he was bailed out, he maintained his motivation is to help those who need it. "It doesn't have to be in the face of San Luis," De Vaul said. "That's not what I'm trying to do. All I asked for is a chance to help these people."