Case delayed again for Instagram mom charged with lying to Petaluma police

Trial has been delayed again for the Instagram influencer charged with lying to police after she accused a Petaluma Latino couple of attempting to kidnap her children.

Katie Sorensen, the Sonoma mom whose breathless tale of a thwarted kidnapping plot went viral on social media, was charged April 29 with falsely reporting a crime after police say her account of the December 2020 incident shifted in key areas.

During a preliminary hearing Friday morning, Sorensen’s San Francisco-based attorney, Gail Shifman, sought to delay setting the case for trial, arguing that Petaluma Police have not turned over key evidence, including body worn camera footage.

“I am not prepared for trial,” said Shifman, who expressed frustration after what she characterized as multiple attempts to contact Petaluma officials regarding her requests for information. “I’m not sure what the problem is.”

Court Commissioner Laura Passaglia granted the extension, and she indicated a trial date would be set at the next scheduled hearing, 8:30 a.m. Jan. 7.

At Friday’s hearing, Shifman also signaled she would seek a plea deal to keep the case from going to trial. Representatives from the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office did not speak to the possibility of a plea deal, but prosecutors objected to the delay in setting a trial date.

Since her client was charged in April, Shifman said she has sent three letters to Petaluma police seeking evidence in the case. Shifman also cited the missing evidence during an Oct. 29 hearing as reason to delay proceedings.

Petaluma City Attorney Eric Danly said neither the city, nor its police department, control the discovery process in criminal cases. Instead, that responsibility lies with the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, Danly said.

“The Petaluma Police department is ready to assist the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office with any discovery issues that require our assistance,” Danly said in an email. “At the present time we are not aware of any pending discovery requests or questions that have been directed by the District Attorney's Office to the Petaluma Police Department.”

Much of the evidence sought, including body worn camera footage and video footage from inside the Petaluma Michael’s craft store where Sorensen had alleged she was stalked, was withheld from the Argus-Courier after the news organization requested similar records. California law allows police to exempt most investigative records from public disclosure, even after cases are closed.

Sorensen faces possible jail time over three misdemeanor charges centering on her December 2020 allegations that Petaluma parents Eddie and Sadie Martinez had tried to kidnap her children at a local Michaels craft store. She would later document the allegations in two Instagram videos seen by millions, setting off a firestorm of media attention while funneling tens of thousands of new followers to Sorensen’s Instagram account.

The allegations thrust the Martinez family into an uncomfortable spotlight, they’ve said, and the family was still reeling in early 2021, before Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch decided to bring charges against Sorensen this past spring.

Sadie Martinez has long sought legal consequences for Sorensen, even starting the online hashtag #prosecutekatie. Once that prosecution effort was underway, Martinez expressed disappointment at Sorensen’s decision to plead not guilty.

“I assumed she was gonna plead not guilty, but deep down inside, it’s just disappointing because she’s sticking to her lie, and now she’s playing the victim,” Martinez told the Argus-Courier this past summer.

Sorensen’s mother launched a GoFundMe campaign in the wake of the charges, seeking to raise $50,000 to bolster her daughter’s defense in the case. To date, the effort has raised $2,300, with the most recent donation coming in two months ago.

Tyler Silvy is editor of the Petaluma Argus-Courier. Reach him at tyler.silvy@arguscourier.com, 707-776-8458, or @tylersilvy on Twitter.