Hedgecock Refuses to Plead

SAN DIEGO — Saying he doesn’t have a lawyer of his choice, Mayor Roger Hedgecock refused today to enter a plea to three criminal charges, so a Superior Court judge declared him innocent pending trial.

Superior Court Judge Barbara Gamer set a May 8 trial date on the two felony charges of perjury and one misdemeanor conflict of interest charge, the same day as a retrial is scheduled on 13 felony charges against the mayor of the nation’s eighth-largest city. A hearing was set for next Monday on a motion for attorney Michael Pancer to withdraw as Hedgecock’s counsel. Pancer has said that he has a heavy calendar of other court cases and that he is concerned over Hedgecock’s ability to pay for his continued services.