Target of Attack : Judge Plays Role in Arrest of Suspect

Van Nuys Municipal Judge Leslie A. Dunn ordinarily deals with crime from the bench, looking down from the heights of judicial impartiality.

But in this case, she was in the street, as both victim and detective.

The judge, who said a man tried to rape her as she jogged near her home in Tarzana on Jan. 4, helped track down a suspect.

The suspect turned out to be a man the judge had sentenced four years ago on an attempted rape charge, which prosecutors agreed to plea bargain down to a misdemeanor. Police said, however, that they believe there is no connection between the judge’s role in the previous case and her attempted rape.

Charges Filed Against Suspect

The suspect, Stephen Andrew Weible, a 26-year-old car salesman from Tarzana, was charged Wednesday with kidnaping and assault with intent to commit rape.

He was released Wednesday morning after posting $75,000 bail. Arraignment was continued to March 10 in Van Nuys Municipal Court.

Because other judges in the county--in effect, Dunn’s colleagues--could be accused of a conflict of interest, the case is expected to be heard by a judge from another jurisdiction, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert P. Imerman said.

Los Angeles police Detective Bud Mehringer said Dunn identified Weible from police photos as the man who grabbed her from a residential street in Tarzana and attempted to rape her in his car.

Dunn struggled with the man and managed to flee. She was not injured in the attack.

Weible was arrested Tuesday evening at the Van Nuys auto dealership where he works. His home was later searched after police obtained a search warrant, court records indicate.

Saw Assailant in Car

According to the search warrant affidavit, Dunn reported that on Jan. 16, almost two weeks after the attack, she saw her assailant driving east on Ventura Boulevard near Tampa Avenue in a late-model silver Camaro but she was unable to get the license number.

The judge’s bailiff, Deputy County Marshal Jerry Kearns, staked out the area the next evening and spotted a man who fit the description Dunn had given driving near Ventura Boulevard and Yolanda Avenue, the affidavit states.

Kearns got the license number, which led police to Weible.

Mehringer said a subsequent investigation turned up evidence that tied Weible to the attack.

The search warrant document states that police recovered two lightweight black jackets similar to the one that Dunn told investigators her assailant was wearing at the time of the attack.

Blood Samples Taken

In addition, Dunn told police that she may have scratched the man’s face during the struggle, and blood samples were recovered from under her fingernails, Mehringer said.

Mehringer said a sample of Weible’s blood was taken Tuesday night. Test results will be available in two to three weeks, he said.

When Weible was charged with attempted rape in 1982, he reached an agreement with prosecutors and pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of disturbing the peace. A no-contest plea is the legal equivalent of a guilty plea.

Dunn had placed Weible on two years’ probation and ordered him to undergo four sessions of psychiatric counseling, court records show.

Weible’s defense attorney, Barry Levin, objected Wednesday to the bail, saying a reasonable amount for the offenses alleged would be $13,500.

“It seems the bail is in direct proportion to the victim in this case,” Levin said.