Buena Park : 4 of 5 Charges Against Ex-Candidate Dismissed

A Superior Court judge has dismissed four of five perjury charges against Steve A. Grasha, who is accused of falsifying his address in documents he filed to run for the City Council last November.

Grasha, 27, still faces one felony perjury count, and Deputy Dist. Atty. Nat Glover will appeal the dismissals made Friday by Judge James Alfano, said Lawrence Buckley, a public defender representing Grasha. The judge ruled that the evidence presented on the four counts at a preliminary hearing was immaterial, Alfano said.

Glover did not return a phone call on Monday.

The charges were filed less than one week before the city’s Nov. 5 election, in which Grasha finished seventh among 14 candidates. He blamed his showing at the polls on publicity surrounding the charges.

Grasha, who now lives in Palm Springs, said Monday that he gave the address of an apartment he planned to move into shortly after filing his papers. He said he couldn’t occupy the apartment until Oct. 15, when it became available.

If convicted, he could face a maximum penalty of three years in state prison. A Sept. 22 trial date in North Orange County Superior Court has been set.