Two beekeeping business owners are seeking a reduction in criminal charges in connection with an employee’s 2018 workplace death in Novato.
Mark Dennis Tauzer and son Trevor Hansen Tauzer are accused of safety violations that led to the death of 21-year-old Carlos Del Toro. In 2021, the Marin County District Attorney’s Office filed a felony charge of causing his death. Both defendants pleaded not guilty.
If convicted of the felony charge the Tauzers could face up to three years in prison and a $1.5 million fine for their Yolo County-based business, Tauzer Apiaries Inc.
In June, the defendants’ attorneys began efforts to reduce the felony charge to a misdemeanor, according to court records. In December, the case was reassigned to Judge Kelly Simmons. On Feb. 15, the defense attorneys jointly filed a memorandum on their request for the reduction.
In their filing, attorneys Peter Goodman and Geoffrey Rotwein asked Simmons to consider “the nature and the circumstances of the charged offense, the impact being charged with responsibility for the death of an employee has wrought on their lives, and the traits of character evidenced by the defendants throughout their lives” in making her decision.
A court hearing was held Thursday to review the case. Simmons postponed it to March 12 since another trial was scheduled in her courtroom Thursday. The defendants and their attorneys attended the hearing via teleconferencing.
Prosecutor Geoff Iida declined to comment on the case after the hearing.
The case focuses on the events of March 30, 2018 at the Tauzer worksite in Bel Marin Keys.
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The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) reported that Del Toro was using a Bobcat that had a forklift attachment to move bee boxes. He was crushed between the vehicle’s cage and forklift after he stepped on the foot control while exiting the Bobcat, according to state investigators.
Del Toro succumbed to his injuries after he was hospitalized for a week, Marin County coroner’s staff reported. His death was ruled accidental.
OHSA investigators later charged Tauzer Apiaries with four safety violations and fined them $94,500 in October 2018. The inspection case is still open and the four violations remain contested by the company, according to an OSHA report.
The state referred the case to the Marin County District Attorney’s Office two years after Del Toro’s death, which prompted them to file criminal charges against the Tauzers.
Mark and Trevor Tauzer could not be reached for comment. Goodman declined to comment after the Thursday hearing. Rotwein could not be contacted.