Recap of Mavrick’s Sentencing Hearing

JOEY BAER (Daily Moth Guest Reporter):

Today is Monday, December 21st. Here at Lakeport, it’s dark because it was a long afternoon. In this trial, the judge will determine whether to give a sentence to Mavrick or not.

[Video clip of Mavrick sitting at the defendant’s desk]

It started with the prosecutor with what is called an impact statement from a family member. A total of 13 individuals were involved - the mother, aunts, cousins, and a few others. That family is devastated. The family feels like they raised Grant and taught him what was the right thing to do. They taught him to be kind and to support others. He had a huge impact on the family in terms of learning sign language. They learned the language and it led to a close relationship with many members. The family felt that his life was taken away by Mavrick. They felt that Mavrick’s murder was horrendous and done with no remorse or reach out to them on his part. They felt he ignored the issue and tried to escape. They wanted the judge to give him the maximum punishment of four years.

The reason for that is they wanted Mavrick to make time to think about what he did, and maybe get some help for his mental health before going back into society. Finally, they shared that they hope that God will connect with Mavrick before he returns to society.

[Video clips of impact statements in the courtroom]

INTERPRETER: You aren’t popular. The only friends you have are those who help you with covering up your murder. They will leave you and you’ll be alone. Many people went to Grant’s memorial service.

JOEY BAER (Daily Moth Guest Reporter):

After that, the defendant called Mavrick’s mother to make an impact statement.

[Video clip of impact statements]

MICHELINA FISHER:

Okay, I’ll go ahead. I’m Michelina Fisher, Mavrick’s (mother).

JOEY BAER (Daily Moth Guest Reporter):

Feimer, the lawyer, asked Mavrick’s mother to elaborate on what he was like as a young boy and throughout his upbringing. His mother expressed pride and explained that Mavrick was very close with his mother. They moved three times, but they always remained close. When they finally moved to Virginia, Mavrick graduated from a mainstream public school as the only deaf person, without an interpreter. She was very proud of his 4.0 GPA and being crowned homecoming king. She said he has a good heart, and is a creative person. After his graduation, he traveled all over the world. When Mavrick traveled, he helped others. He wanted to establish a deaf village, and sought after that goal in Elko. The lawyer asked if Mavrick had a son, and she responded that yes, Mavrick’s son was now two years old. She explained that even though Mavrick was first placed in prison when he was seven months old, they keep in touch and that her grandson does recognize his father. Finally, the lawyer asked if Mavrick would go home if he’s released from prison. His mother said yes, she would welcome him back home and encourage him to continue pursuing his dream of establishing a deaf village.

MICHELINA FISHER:

His land is still there. I’m the one who has been taking care of his land all this time. I took care of it for him.

Yes, yes. I would be thrilled to have him come back home. He can work on his land again. So he can keep his dreams up.

JOEY BAER (Daily Moth Guest Reporter):

After the impact statements, there was an opportunity for the prosecutor and defendant to provide responses. The prosecutor, Krones, passionately felt that the judge should give Mavrick a full sentence of four years. The prosecutor felt that Mavrick knew what he was doing and that it was a calculated killing, because if it had truly been done in self defense, he would have asked for help. The reality is he hit Grant’s head with a rock six times. He escaped to Mexico. When he escaped, he texted several individuals with dishonest messages. When he went to the ranch, he was unclear on what happened. They felt like he was lying and muddling the truth. The prosecutor felt very strongly that Mavrick should get a full sentence.

The defendant expressed that they understood and that the situation was unfortunate, but it is clear that the jury made a decision that Mavrick is guilty of involuntary manslaughter because of self defense. They expressed that the discussion might be overkill, but felt it was important to note that Mavrick has been doing well in jail and that he’s been cooperative. The defendant expressed that they feel two years is an appropriate sentencing time.

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JOEY BAER (Daily Moth Guest Reporter):

After each response, the judge took the floor. The judge asked for a 20 minute break to review the codes before making his final decision. After everyone returned, the judge sat down and said a decision was made to give Mavrick a full four-year sentence. He felt that the jury did their job and did a good job, and explained that the reason he decided to give Mavrick a four-year sentence is because Mavrick’s murder was brutal. He felt that the amount of time Mavrick hit Grant’s head with a rock was excessive. Mavrick’s texts implied he had no remorse, and they were unclear. That was unacceptable to the judge. Other behaviors such as escaping to Mexico weren’t acceptable, so the judge granted Mavrick a full four-year sentence.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY SUSAN KRONES:

Ok well, I was very happy with the judge’s ruling on the sentence and I think it’s appropriate, the upper term and in state prison. Practically speaking, he probably will not go to state prison because of the pandemic, but I think that’s an appropriate sentence.

I hope that Mr. Fisher at some point shows, in some way, some remorse for what he did to Grant because Grant did not deserve it, what happened to him. I hope that he finds some way to understand the horrible thing that he did and the disservice that he has done to Grant, because Grant had dreams too, and he will never be able to fulfill those.

At this point I don’t see that the defendant has any remorse for what he did. It’s a horrible situation, but it’s at the end now and just, you know, it’s a case I’ll never forget.

DEFENSE ATTORNEY THOMAS FEIMER:

Overall, like I said, it was a little disappointing that overall Mr. Fisher is still very relieved about the results of this case. I do want to sort of parallel what the judge said about the service of the jury. They did an outstanding job. They worked under very difficult conditions. They heard a lot of evidence. I completely understand where Mr. Whitaker’s family is going or family is coming from. I mean that, that’s… it’s terrible no matter how you look at it, what happened. It’s not, you know, from the get we have never been about, this is about who deserves to live and who deserves to die, or anything like that. It’s horrible.

But I do think it was a bit unfair what they said. This jury really put its heart and soul into trying to do what was just and I feel they accomplished that.

JOEY BAER (Daily Moth Guest Reporter):

It is a four-year sentence, however, keep in mind that the California system is a bit complicated. First, those four years will be spent in a state prison, but due to COVID he can’t be transferred. That means he will stay in county jail. Now, the sentence of four years includes the time he’s already served. California has their own laws that are very complicated, and that means there are about 240 to 270 days left in Mavrick’s sentence. The defendant and prosecutor will explain this.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY SUSAN KRONES:

In every case an individual gets a sentence, in this case four years, whether they’re in prison or in jail they get credits for good behavior and what they call “good time, work time,” so that happens in every case. There can be, sometimes, limitations on the credits, but in most cases you do get credits off of that sentence. So in this case it’s a half-time credit case and so that’s what the credits he was given so far.


My calculation with a four year sentence is that he’ll serve an additional, approximately, 270 days in jail or prison, and that is actual time he’ll have to serve. And then he’ll be released on parole or post community supervision, where he will still be under some kind of supervision, and hopefully he will not violate that once he gets out of jail or prison.

DEFENSE ATTORNEY THOMAS FEIMER:

It’s suffice it to say he’s got, at the most, probably 246 or 247 days left to do. It could be less then that before he’s released.

I do think some of the things, there were some acquisitions made in the victim impact statements that are really, those are rumors that they have heard. Their loved one is dead and that is probably, there’s almost nothing, I’m sure, that can make up for that for them, and again, I couldn’t imagine that either. Nonetheless, there were things that were said about Mr. Fisher and unfortunately the law, as it relates to sentencing, doesn’t really give us much opportunity to say much about them. There were things that were said about Mr. Fisher there that are really more, it strikes me based on things that are innuendoes and rumors that have been floating around, that are really about him personally. And so, I kind of want to point that out and all of that needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

-Alright.

-Alright.

-I think that’s all we have. We appreciate your time, thank you!

-Thank you!

JOEY BAER (Daily Moth Guest Reporter):

After the hearing was over, I stood there waiting. Mavrick came outside, and he said “I have to accept it”, as he walked by.