SAN DIEGO - A state appeals court Friday upheld the assault/DUI conviction of a woman who was with former Chargers linebacker Steve Foley the night he was shot by an off-duty Coronado police officer.
Lisa Maree Gaut was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and two drunken driving counts in connection with the Sept. 3, 2006, shooting.
Officer Aaron Mansker testified that around 3:15 a.m., he spotted Foley's vehicle being driven erratically and swerving on northbound state Route 163 and tried to pull it over, even though he was dressed in street clothes.
The 23-year-old rookie officer followed the car for 13 miles to Foley's Poway home, where he shot the player when he thought he was reaching into his waistband.
Gaut, then 25 and living with her son, jumped in the driver's seat and drove the car at Mansker, who managed to get out of the way.
Gaut was sentenced in June 2007 by Judge Charles Rogers to six months in jail or work furlough.
The appellate justices rejected Gaut's contention that there was insufficient evidence to convict her; that Judge Charles Rogers erred when he allowed her recorded jailhouse telephone calls to be introduced as evidence; and that he improperly failed to include certain jury instructions.
Gaut's lawyer suggested the telephone calls had the effect to "demonize" her before the jury, partly because of what the appellate justices described as "rough language."
The appellate panel ruled the calls were of solid evidentiary value because they cast doubt on earlier statements to detectives, and that Gaut "might have had ulterior motives to tailor her trial testimony to maximize her personal benefit."
Foley was 31 when he took a bullet to the knee and had to retire from football. He settled with Mansker and the city of Coronado for $5.5 million.
He had a .21 percent blood-alcohol level -- more than twice the legal limit -- and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor drunken driving chargers.
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