Mojonnier’s Son Gets Probation, Public Service

The 22-year-old son of Assemblywoman Sunny Mojonnier was placed on three years’ probation Friday and ordered to perform 30 days of public service work for false imprisonment of a 15-year-old boy.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman also fined Craig Mojonnier $500. Huffman granted a motion by Mojonnier’s attorney, Mike Pancer, to reduce the felony charge to a misdemeanor.

Co-defendant Gary Chavez, 32, was placed on probation for four years and fined $2,000. Chavez was ordered to perform 45 days of public service work.

Both men pleaded guilty March 14 to the charge after admitting they held Eric Huff against his will on June 22. The Cardiff teen-ager was allegedly held for five days in retaliation for an alleged $100,000 debt Huff’s brother owed Chavez. Eric Huff was later released unharmed.

“It seems to be quite out of character for you, given your background,” Huffman told Mojonnier. “I’m giving you the benefit of that doubt.”

In an interview with the Probation Department, Mojonnier stated “the court should grant probation because my action (was) not premeditated and Huff (had) consented to being with us.”

Mojonnier told a probation officer that the incident was a big mistake and that initially he thought it “seemed easy enough” to tell Huff that his sister had been injured in order to lure him into Chavez’s car.

The probation report stated that “Mojonnier explained that he was unable to work for several months due to a saw injury to his thumb when Chavez offered to give him a couple of thousand dollars for assistance in getting back the money . . . “

“He (Mojonnier) denies placing any phone calls relative to demand money and said that if he had known how it would have developed, he would not have participated,” the report said.