Deliberations Begin in Oxnard Trustee’s Battery Trial : Courts: Ray Gonzales’ ex-wife testifies that he frequently hit her during their marriage. Defense says her statements have no bearing on case before jury.

After hearing half a day of testimony that included domestic-abuse allegations by Ray Gonzales’ ex-wife, a Ventura County jury began deliberations Tuesday in the misdemeanor battery trial of the Oxnard Elementary School District trustee.

The 42-year-old school board member is accused of pushing his current wife during a Feb. 7 argument in which she fell backward, hit her arm on a previously broken window and suffered two cuts that required six stitches.

Gonzales has denied any wrongdoing, and faces a possible jail sentence if convicted.

Before resting their case Tuesday, prosecutors called Gonzales’ ex-wife to the witness stand. Camarillo resident Mariam Bakhtiarifard testified that Gonzales hit her as many as 20 times during their five-year marriage in the late 1980s.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Wendy Macfarlane told jurors in closing arguments that Bakhtiarifard’s testimony is significant because it shows a pattern of abusive behavior by the defendant.

But defense attorney Willard Wiksell said the ex-wife’s claims are unsubstantiated. Wiksell accused prosecutors of “muddying” the case with testimony that has nothing to do with the issue before the jury.

“Slop enough mud and maybe you’ll convict that poor guy of something,” Wiksell argued. “This case is much ado about nothing. There is no evidence.”

Gonzales is facing a single misdemeanor charge for allegedly injuring his 29-year-old wife during a domestic dispute.

But Nicole Allen-Gonzales told jurors Monday she was to blame for the injuries--not her husband. Prosecutors say Allen-Gonzales changed her story to protect her spouse. The couple have been married 10 years and have three children.

Allen-Gonzales admitted on the stand she had changed her story several times. During an initial police interview, she denied Gonzales had hurt her but told relatives and a doctor that he had. A month after the Feb. 7 argument, according to police reports, Gonzales caught his wife naked with another man in the couple’s home. The defendant called police, and Allen-Gonzales then reported that Gonzales had pushed her on Feb. 7. Gonzales was then arrested.

On Monday, Allen-Gonzales told the jury she had lied about the incident to family and a month later to police because she was having an affair and feared losing her children during a custody dispute. She also said she was mad at her husband. Allen-Gonzales filed for divorce in April.

The couple’s daughter, Georgette, testified Tuesday she did not see her father push her mother on Feb. 7. But an investigator later testified that the 9 1/2-year-old admitted during a May interview seeing the altercation.

During her closing arguments, Macfarlane said Allen-Gonzales and Georgette both lied to the jury to protect the defendant. The prosecutor suggested Gonzales manipulated his spouse and daughter, and made them fearful of telling the truth.

Macfarlane suggested money was another motive for the wife to lie.

“Nicole’s never worked, she has no means of support,” the prosecutor said. “She was looking at losing her children, losing her financial support. She had everything to lose by telling the truth.”

Wiksell argued that Allen-Gonzales is not a victim in this case. He said she carried on an affair for months behind her husband’s back, then lied to get him arrested. The defense attorney also criticized prosecutors for filing such a “trivial” case.

“This is a far cry from grabbing somebody and throwing them against a wall,” Wiksell argued.

Three weeks before the case went to trial, Gonzales was fired as supervisor of a county welfare-to-work facility in Oxnard.

His termination from the $58,619-a-year job came after county administrators placed him on paid leave while investigating complaints about his management style. Gonzales has vowed to fight the firing in court.

His position as a school trustee has not been affected by this misdemeanor case or his firing.