Testimony from a district attorney’s investigator and a Lompoc city official shifted the focus of the preliminary hearing for City Councilman Stephen Bridge on Thursday, as new witnesses detailed how rebate applications were reviewed, and raised questions about the accuracy of supporting documentation.
Marking day four in Department 2 of Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Lompoc, Ronald Murillo, an investigator with the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, and Rodney Loehr, a supervisor with the City of Lompoc’s utilities division, were called by Deputy District Attorney Brian Cota after two days of testimony from Bridge’s sons.
The new witnesses moved the case from family accounts of work performed to scrutiny of how records were submitted and evaluated…