Psychologist testifies Exeter Officer was ‘aggressor’ in South Valley trial

PORTERVILLE, Calif. (KGPE)- A cold calculated killer, or an abused ex-wife who snapped? That is what a South Valley jury will have to decide in the trial of Erika Sandoval. 

Sandoval took the stand to testify that she shot her ex-husband Daniel Green back in 2015. She says she broke into the Exeter Police officer’s Goshen home, grabbed a gun on the refrigerator, and when he came home from the gym hid in a closet and shot him when he went to the bathroom. 

On Monday, Dr. Gemil Rogers testified. She specializes in Psychology. 

She testified that after interviewing, analyzing, and testing Sandoval, along with the facts of the case, Green was the predominant aggressor in their relationship. 

“Did you conduct a variety of assessments on Miss Sandoval?,” asked Defense Attorney Morgan Blankenship. 

“Yes, that is correct,” answered Dr. Rogers. 

Dr. Rogers was hired by Sandoval’s defense team to assess the rocky relationship between Green and Sandoval. 

“Based on all your review of the material, did you identify a predominant aggressor in this relationship?” asked Blankenship.

“Yes, I did,” answered Rogers. 

“Who was that?” said Blankenship. 

“It was Mr. Green,” said Rogers. 

“Why?,” asked Attorney Blankenship. 

“Given when we look at the frequency and severity, the type of behavior, while the review of records did indicate that Miss Sandoval broke some things on occasion, and engaged in name-calling, he engaged in almost every part of the power control wheel,” said Rogers. 

The power control wheel is a wheel that Dr. Rogers and other researchers use to study intimate partner violence, which is domestic violence by a current or former partner or spouse.

“Physical abuse, it can be emotional abuse,” said Dr. Rogers. 

Dr. Rogers also testified that Sandoval did meet all seven criteria for Battered Woman Syndrome, which is a pattern of behaviors by someone who has been abused.

She testified that if someone broke into an abuser’s home it would be a high-stress situation and due to the circumstances, it is possible that Sandoval made an emotional decision on Feb. 6, 2015.

“it is a fear-based response,” said Rogers. 

During cross-examination, Prosecutor David Alavezos pointed out the gender bias in the power wheel, which referred to the victim as she and her.

“Is it bias to assume that men cannot be victims?” asked Alavezos. 

Dr. Rogers suggested that over 90% of predominant aggressors are male but that doesn’t mean men don’t experience domestic violence.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline reports that one in seven men over the age of 18 in the United States is a victim of physical abuse by a partner. The number is higher for women, with one in four reporting abuse. 

The Defense team retained Dr. Rogers and is expected to pay her about $15,000 for her work on the case and for testifying. She says on the stand the money does not affect her testimony. 

Both Green and Sandoval were arrested for domestic violence in 2011.