Murder trial delays plea hearing for Fort Bragg man accused of rape. Murder trial? What murder trial?  The deplorable state of the local news media is described- please follow up on arrests!

A group of 10 people in Fort Bragg’s Ten Mile Court got up and left as soon as the plea hearing for Cayden Craig, 23, was postponed, Monday morning, leaving the courtroom without a single observer.

The crowd was mostly a row of women who were interested in the case. There was also a relative of Craig. Several women have told this reporter they contacted the police about the defendant stalking them before his arrest for rape, followed by the filing of four other charges related to peeping and burglary, involving three different women in south-central Fort Bragg.

The plea hearing was reset to July 28, back at the Fort Bragg courthouse.

Here is my previous story, which has all the details and photos, which I won’t be publishing again unless something big happens in the case.

But we are proud of the fact that we are there to observe, like reporters used to always be.

As reported in our previous story, Craig has hired private attorney Justin Petersen of Santa Rosa to handle his case. Petersen had notified the court and the prosecution that he could not attend Monday’s 9 a.m. hearing, as he is in the middle of a murder trial in Ukiah. 

The fact that I had no idea a murder trial was going on in Ukiah shows how the profession of journalism has crashed, burned, and then been reduced to ashes over the past 20 years. 

Historically, murder trials were always news and usually attended by several different reporters. 

Today, the press does not report unless a press release is issued by the authorities. 

End of story, literally.

Courts don’t have a viewpoint, they don’t issue press releases, and are set up to have an independent press observer objectively describe their proceedings. The public of 2025 has forgotten this, but sometimes innocent people are charged, and it used to be that the press would tell that story. This does not mean the courts or cops or public defenders, or judges have failed.  Yes the courts make mistakes but as Winston Churchill said, “Democracy is the worst possible form of government, except for all the other ones.”

And we have to let the system work. Doing so is infinitely better than the alternative.

American Democracy was founded on the premise that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and that everyone has a right to a fair trial.

In years of covering courts when newspapers had staff writers doing that everywhere, I have documented failures by judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and especially the laws they are required to work under. 

This neutral viewpoint used to be critical to the dialogue in America, now at risk more than ever. 

The press also fails often. I was trained to think that cases like this were important because of the gravity of the alleged crime and because people were interested in them. 

Right on the first count, this case is important.

Wrong, wrong, wrong on the part about us giving the people what fires them up. I’ve done that. I was wrong. The media does that much too often. Readers click, click, click and share and then hate us and rightly call us sensationalists. (Somehow, those screaming for sordid details are not to blame as well).

We – The Professional Journalists – have to decide what is important, not just respond to online clicks.

This story is important for the following reasons:

1. Did law enforcement do their job in regards to this and other related cases here?
2. What can society and all those involved learn that will help prevent this from happening again? In this case, everyone needs to read the science that says peeping Toms often move up to flasher, to burglar, to rapist, and even to murderer. We can all help play a part here.
3. Is the suspect guilty? Is he getting a fair chance from the justice system? The rush to justice crowd, who are not victims, are the worst players in this.

People who have no stake and know nothing other than what they hear.  They should STAY OUT of the case and we, the media, should NOT feed them.  They have already caused chaos in this case.

Stranger rape is very rare and this was one of the scariest crimes in recent Fort Bragg history until a suspect was arrested, especially after Fort Bragg police told us about the crime and were hunting for a night stalking man.  After the arrest there were a lot of reports about peeping toms having been made prior. But I have not confirmed any of this and have no police reports so far confirming this.

Cayden Craig is different than what the lynch mob went looking for, which was a trans person and/or homeless person. I don’t think the cops were looking for the wrong person, but the fact that this craziness went on and seems to go on a lot here in Fort Bragg is sickening.

There is also a very touchy aspect of this case so I’m glad nobody else is covering it.

It’s both completely expected and totally astonishing that my rivals have not reported the fact this important case has greatly changed and expanded to include other women since that holy, sacred press release was issued. 

That was, as always, the end of the story for them.

We are the only news source who has used photos of Mr. Craig. I’m glad they don’t have them because I don’t think that photos are needed for follow up hearings like this and once they get a photo it’s hammered up every time, for years or even decades.

I had threatened to sue the county to release these photos, which are public records. These were needed because people were still confused by the videos and multiple women are now involved in this case. Mug shots can help, but mostly hurt when overused by the media. 

In lesser cases, mug shots destroy lives and are forever attached to a person seeking a job now. And facial recognition by eyewitnesses is a terrible way to convict someone without other evidence. 

Facial ID, once the main reason people were convicted, has been shown to be very questionable as evidence and standards now seek corroboration. Many people think they remember faces but studies have shown they actually not. Mug shots in the media have led to false memories in people coming forward. So we won’t be running people’s faces unless there is a solid reason. We withdrew my efforts to get the photos with the county, sure we would win, but not wanting to.

At Monday’s hearing, after Judge Brennan brought up the issue of Petersen not being in court today, District Attorney David Eyster confirmed this, saying the murder trial was on in Ukiah’s department A (at the same time as the hearing for Craig). The judge suggested that Craig be brought to the courthouse in Fort Bragg to make a personal appearance on July 28 when he is scheduled to enter a plea. 

Eyster responded to the judge’s idea about whether Craig needed to be there in person, “I don’t know about that,” and they discussed the need for this. Brennan then said Craig could once again appear by Zoom from the Ukiah jail, subject to revision if Craig’s attorney, Petersen, has an issue with that.

Left unresolved was another major issue – whether the case will continue to be heard by Judge Brennan in Fort Bragg.  Depending on workload, the presiding judge of Mendocino County Superior Court can move cases around to accommodate speedy trial needs and scheduling issues.

My ethical obligation once reporting an arrest is to report anything important brought to me so please contact me. However, I will investigate on my own and won’t go forward without police reports and hard facts, as this can irresponsibly taint the case and any jury. 

We have a great system of justice, really and like everything else American, it only works with checks and balances and it’s way out of balance. I implore all the press release sites to stop right now printing raw press releases just to be first, and because it takes 5 seconds to do, and you don’t want to spend any more time than that.

Check the facts! That is what we journalists are for!!

There is only one site that runs bylined news stories that are actually press releases. (Bylined meaning they sign the story as if they had researched and written it, they did neither). Not only is that plagiarism, it also creates the impression somebody has looked into this news and found it checks out. Nope, it’s just a press release. They have done it since the new owners from the Bay Area took over.

All the authorities know that they can completely and totally control the Mendocino County media and the entire narrative now through press releases. I spent two years getting stories, only to have the authorities want it to be told their way. They issued a press release and I was told my story, assigned at times would not be wanted now, nor paid for.

My only hope in continuing to practice the profession was to start my own news site and go back to the journalist ethics I’ve learned and practiced since my first reporting job in 1983. 

Intro – www.mendocinocoast.news – We promise to do better reporting the news to our community.

The paid media everywhere has been cut by short sighted hedge funds and other corporations so much, there is none left. Myself and my rivals are doing the best we can on very, very little despite a greater need than ever for professional news about a fast changing world. The money now belongs to influencers, usually paid by advertisers. I recommend reading the AVA every day. You can skip over the press releases to the actual news there.  And yes, pay to sign up for it ! The Anderson Valley Advertiser is worth paying for.

And also we recommend reading Matt Lafever’s work in SF Gate. I wish SF Gate were a newspaper so I could sit down and read it. There are a number of interesting reporters and they let stories tell themselves, not be dictated by lusts, clicks, or politics. It’s awesome.

But SF Gate is also packed with bogus winery reviews and story after story about some secret and hidden “Eat at Joe’s” place that serves the pure elixir of the gods. 

I can’t imagine how we will know much of anything without the AVA and its interpretations based on generations of knowledge.But I fear it will happen someday. KZYX eliminated their news department and has been doing essentially press release news since.  We will have more on all the local news in an upcoming piece that will be more factual than an old guy yelling at a cloud rant, I promise.

Mike Geniella is the most experienced trial reporter in Mendocino County and has covered the Cubbison trial for pretty much every news source, the Advocate-Beacon-UDJ chain, the AVA, Mendofever and more. Mike has a spectacular resume full of articles and investigative coverage, was well as many trials. He has a strong voice as a reporter, able to interpret the turns and twists in the courtroom. He once worked for Eyster as a press release writer, but they collided after that when Geniella hit hard at the DA’s handling of disgraced Ukiah cop Kevin Murray. Its great to have a reporter of his skill, but these other outfits really need to learn to do their own work too.

So the last thing, what is this murder trial in Ukiah?  Pan Jasper Brady is on trial but apparently Geniella wasn’t available as nobody is covering it. Murders are rare and murder trials even more scarce. Most criminal cases plead out first. Its really too bad there is nobody in Ukiah to show people how the justice system works, or doesn’t in this trial.

The only thing printed I have found was those ubiquitous press releases with thankfully a little effort made to get some info on the fictim.. This is from a press release: (which should always be indicated when you print information from a press release).

“On July 11, 2024, at approximately 8:06 PM, when the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from 47-year-old Pan Jasper Brady . Authorities allege Brady reported that he had shot Kevin Taeuffer, 54,during an argument (the argument was in Point Arena.)”  

Redheaded  Blackbelt and MendoFever did track down a photo of the victim, which is an honorable thing for the media to do. Victims must be remembered. We journalists always used to remember victims.

Now that news must be instantaneous, this has been lost, along with much of the human connection between the news and its readers.

Here is the story from MendoFever.  I wish they had done more, but just a quote from a victim and the photos completely transform this story for everyone. Make an effort to go beyond the damn press release!

Change.org has a picture

The old tradition was that every life like this should get a story. 

The age of everything online means you can’t really cover these cases unless you are in the courthouse. It used to be that a reporter could go and get actual details from manilla folders, a big pile of them. It might take a professional journalist an hour to go through them and find what the public needed to know. But now, there is only 3 pages of boilerplate about the murder trial in the online file.. 

When put online, they are sanitized of anything and everything now.  This case continues as it had been in the press release, that Brady shot Taeuffe with a pistol.  Eyster also alleges in his filing documents that Brady had prior court convictions but does not say what they are in this file.

The DA is using these as enhancements because Pan was prohibited from possessing a gun.  A review of old court files shows they span two decades. His first felony case was for possession of stolen property. 

The second came with an allegation of carrying a concealed firearm, but in that case all charges were dismissed but a drug charge. Should the charges have been dropped when he had a serious record? That’s the kind of thing only a reporter would ask, as both sides aim to get the case completed, not to tell the public what might (or might not) be amiss here.

This murder case was in the Fort Bragg court until the jury trial.  With only one judge in the courtroom on the Coast, it’s difficult for Fort Bragg’s court to handle a murder trial while at the same time keeping up on the steady flow of local cases.

And the press releases suck all the air out of the room, as many people won’t go back and read a story that delves into bigger issues, like  law enforcement’s swift or slow action, the quality of deals made in criminal cases, and especially the human side of the story, all sides.  None of that enters into a modern news story about courts and crime. Its all whatever the authorities say in a press release. if you want that there is no reason to use these “news” sites. Just get on the press release feed for. CHP, sheriff and PDs and you are all set. Many people today think that’s all there is.

Human impact stories make the biggest impact, to show what victims and the families of suspects go through.  One must be very careful. Having a human story told can often be incredibly cathartic and allow victims the ability to speak and move on. But other people can be traumatized .its not a decision an AI can make.

We are happy to tell those stories if you have more information, please contact us at frankhartzell@gmail.com,. I often talk to a person and then talk them OUT of doing a story, depending on what. my experience shows about doing this might impact them.