#UKIAHCA 2/27/18 — In a brief proceeding of the Mendocino Superior Court, this afternoon, #NegieFallis , 37, the primary suspect in the disappearance of #KhadijahBritton , had his arraignment postponed until Friday. Fallis was scheduled to be arraigned today, but at his appearance he stated that he had not been able to retain his own lawyer. As a result a public defender, Christiane Hipps, was assigned to him. Hipps will represent him at his arraignment at 1:30p.m. on March 2. Judge Cindee Mayfield presided and Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster himself was the prosecutor. Khadijah Britton, 23, is the Covelo woman who has been missing since Feb. 7. Since then the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has launched an extensive search, with help from the Round Valley Tribal Police, and some support from the FBI. An outpouring of grief and support has been seen from the community in Covelo and all of Mendocino County, and an award of $50,000 dollars is being offered for any information leading to the discovery of Britton. According to witnesses, Fallis allegedly accosted Britton on Feb. 7, at the home of a friend, then forced her at gunpoint into a car. She has not been heard from since. He was arrested by Tribal Police on Feb. 19th and has been in custody since. However, Fallis is not scheduled to be arraigned on charges stemming from Britton’s disappearance. Instead, the charges allege that on Jan. 29 he committed the crime of “kidnapping” (P.C. section 207a), took her to another location, then allegedly beat her with a hammer. This constitutes a separate charge, assault with a deadly weapon (P.C. 245a1). Altogether the D.A. is charging him with five separate counts stemming from the Jan. 29 incident, not the alleged Feb. 7 incident: kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, corporal injury to a spouse (P.C. 273.5a), burglary in the first degree (P.C. 459/460a), and making a criminal threat, in this case allegedly threatening great bodily harm or death to Khadijah Britton (P.C. 422).Before the hearing, a large crowd of Khadijah’s friends and family milled around the courthouse hallway. Marcus Britton, Khadijah’s brother, explained their presence, s
