2 Ask to Face Felony Charges in Cross-Burning

Two white supremacists have asked that misdemeanor charges against them stemming from a 1983 triple cross-burning in Kagel Canyon be elevated to felonies, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office said Tuesday.

Thomas Metzger, a leader of the Ku Klux Klan in California, and Stanley Witek have filed motions asking that charges of possessing a billy club and conspiracy to have an unlawful fire be prosecuted as felonies, said Mike Qualls, a spokesman for the city attorney.

The two charges are known as “wobblers,” meaning that they can be brought as felonies or misdemeanors, Qualls said. State law allows defendants to request that such charges be heard as felonies, he said.

“It’s a somewhat unusual defense tactic,” Qualls said.

Municipal Judge Maxine Waters is scheduled to consider their motions during a hearing Thursday, Qualls said.

Seven other defendants charged in connection with the burning of the 20-foot-high crosses in the backyard of a home in Lake View Terrace have not filed similar requests, Qualls said. A trial date for the seven is scheduled to be set at the hearing, he said.

In May, Robert B. Horner, assistant city attorney, said he expected the defendants to ask that the charges be tried as felonies in Superior Court, where they would be entitled to a preliminary hearing. Defense attorneys often learn the prosecution’s evidence at such hearings and can ask the judge to dismiss the charges before trial.

If the counts are heard as felonies, the defendants will face state prison instead of County Jail terms if convicted and will be prosecuted by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Thirteen people were arrested after the cross-burnings, but the case was dismissed in 1984 when a Municipal Court judge ruled that the city attorney’s office improperly drafted the complaint. But, on appeal, the Los Angeles Superior Court in January reinstated 10 misdemeanor charges.

Nine members of the group pleaded not guilty to the charges last month, and charges against four others were dropped because those four were already serving lengthy prison terms in other cases.