Westminster : Arraignment of Family in Fraud Case Delayed

Arraignment of a Westminster couple and their daughter accused of bilking homeowner associations of more than $1 million was postponed Thursday to give public defenders assigned to them time to review their case.

Jack E. Miller, 51, his wife, Marjorie L. Miller, 47, and their daughter, Terry L. Edwards, 25, appeared before Municipal Judge Marvin G. Weeks on grand theft charges Thursday morning. Edwards had her own attorney present, but her parents said they could not afford counsel and requested representation by a public defender.

Jack Miller, a former Westminster planning commissioner, and his wife and daughter were arrested Aug. 26 after a 2 1/2-year investigation of their now-defunct property-management firm, Community Assn. Management Service. Police and the district attorney’s office allege that the three bilked homeowners associations of about $1.36 million in monthly dues.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Guy Ormes protested when Miller asked that the judge assign attorney Allan Stokke, who had represented the former official in other court cases, to be his public defender. Ormes said the court has contracts with a pool of attorneys to act as public defenders and it would be “highly unusual” for a defendant to have a lawyer appointed at the taxpayers’ expense.