Families Asked His Help : Judge OKs Release of 3 Suspects Without Bail

Three teen-agers arrested on charges of attacking an elderly woman were released by police without bail after a Municipal Court judge intervened at the request of the suspects’ families, authorities said Thursday.

West Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Sherman W. Smith Jr. was asked to intercede in the case by the father of one of the youths, a prominent South Los Angeles minister, and authorized the three suspects to be released on their own recognizance Wednesday.

The judge said he based the release on the “representations” of the Rev. James Lawson, father of one of the suspects and the pastor of Holman United Methodist Church.

“Basically, anybody can call me anytime on these matters,” Smith said. “The Police Department calls me at all hours of the day or night to raise the bail on some suspects.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven Sowders, head of the special investigations division, said he did not think Smith committed any crime or breached any judicial ethic.

“Based on the information we have right now, we will not initiate an investigation,” Sowders said.

Lawson said he and the families of the other youths know Smith because they all live in the Crenshaw area.

A district attorney’s memo released earlier this week disclosed that Municipal Judge Maxine F. Thomas arranged the “unlawful release from custody” of her goddaughter on a felony arrest last year. Thomas signed a release to get her goddaughter, Tiffany Webb, 18, released on her own recognizance without Webb having to sign a release agreement required by law, the memo said.

Smith said Lawson’s son, Curtis, 19, and the two other suspects did sign the necessary release.

No criminal charges were filed against Thomas, who later became presiding judge of the Municipal Court. She faces possible ouster from her presiding judge post next week because 42 of her fellow Municipal Court judges--including Smith--signed a recall petition.

Curtis Lawson, Aaron Thompson, 18, and Kipling Davis, 19, were arrested Wednesday evening after witnesses told police that one of the suspects approached Helen Lew, 64, in front of her Baldwin Hills home, slammed her to the ground and took her purse, police spokesman Cmdr. William Booth said.

Lew was in stable condition at Good Samaritan Hospital with a broken hip.

The three suspects were booked into Southwest Division station on suspicion of robbery and held in lieu of $6,000 bail each. At about 7 p.m., Smith visited the station to inquire about their release.

Three hours later, station officers received a Teletype from the County’s Pre-Trial Support Services Division authorizing the youths’ release on their own recognizance at Smith’s order, Booth said.

“I contacted the district attorney’s office to make sure nothing was inappropriate,” Smith said. “I was told by the D.A.’s office that the order was up to my discretion.”