SOS Asks Court to Dismiss Hazardous-Waste Charges

Lawyers for Space Ordnance Systems, complaining of “contemptuous” behavior by county prosecutors, filed a motion Wednesday asking for dismissal of criminal charges against the company and three of its officials for alleged hazardous-waste violations.

The motion, filed in Newhall Municipal Court, said the case should be thrown out because prosecutors “have ignored the explicit commands” of a higher court to more clearly detail the charges against the Santa Clarita Valley company and executives Joseph Cabaret, James Smith and Michael Murphy.

Defense lawyers said that, although prosecutors did file an amended 87-count complaint earlier this month, it still lacks enough specifics to allow the defendants “to prepare and present a defense and to avoid surprise at trial.”

Motion Called ‘Rhetoric’

The motion, which is scheduled to be argued next Wednesday before Municipal Judge H. Keith Byram, was characterized by Deputy Dist. Atty. Clifford Klein as “strong rhetoric unsupported by legal arguments.”

Klein said prosecutors “specifically complied with the decision of the appellate court” in the way they amended the complaint.

Even if the defense motion is not granted, its filing appears to signal another lengthy delay in the case, which has gone on for 10 months without the defendants having to assert their innocence or guilt. Should Byram deny the motion, defense lawyers are expected to appeal again, putting the case on hold pending another ruling by a Superior Court.

The case stems from raids led in March, 1984, by state and county officials at Space Ordnance’s Mint Canyon and Sand Canyon manufacturing plants near Canyon Country. The officials said they uncovered evidence that Space Ordnance, or SOS, had stored and transported hazardous wastes without required permits and had disposed of chemically tainted waste water by spraying it through sprinklers and dumping it on the ground and along creek beds.

The original complaint, filed last Aug. 28 by then Dist. Atty. Robert Philibosian, accused the company and three men of violating state and county regulations governing the storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous wastes. The 87 counts are misdemeanors, but combined carry maximum penalties of up to 80 years in prison and fines of up to $3.6 million for each defendant.

‘Demurred’ to Charges

Rather than enter pleas at their scheduled arraignment last October, the defendants “demurred” to the charges--arguing that the complaint was defective because it failed to state specifically what compounds were mishandled on what dates and at which locations.

Following a hearing, Byram ruled against the defendants, but agreed to delay arraignment until their appeal could be heard.

Then, in March, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Reese overruled Byram, agreeing with defense lawyers that the complaint should be more specific.

In response to that ruling, prosecutors filed an amended complaint on May 1, and Byram set arraignment for next Wednesday.

But defense lawyers, contending the changes “are those of form, and not of substance,” said the complaint is still defective. For example, they said, the complaint now identifies the wastes in question merely as solvents and explosives, which they contend still denies them the details they need to prepare a proper defense.

Damage Suits Filed

Klein said the complaint identifies the substances just as they are listed in state laws.

SOS faces legal action on several fronts as a result of the raids last year. Damage suits have been filed by dozens of the company’s neighbors, who accuse SOS of contaminating ground water, damaging their property and endangering their health.

SOS, a division of TransTechnology Corp. of Sherman Oaks, manufactures explosive devices for the space program and for the Defense Department and foreign governments.