Deputy D.A. Charged With Petty Theft in Shoplifting

A senior deputy district attorney has been charged with misdemeanor petty theft stemming from his arrest for allegedly shoplifting four ties, a pair of socks and a bottle of perfume from a Glendale department store.

Jeffrey C. Jonas, 45, one of three deputies in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office who oversee the bulk of felony prosecutions in the downtown criminal courthouse, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Glendale Municipal Court, according to Deputy Atty. Gen. Richard Cullather.

The case had been referred to the state attorney general because the district attorney’s office was forced to declare a conflict of interest.

Authorities said Jonas is charged with a misdemeanor rather than a felony because the value of the goods -- $89.50 -- allegedly stolen from The Broadway store falls short of the $400 minimum for grand theft.

Jonas recently returned to work after completing a 30-day suspension without pay following his arrest in July.

Assistant Dist. Atty. Curt Livesay said that whatever the outcome of the court action, no further administrative action is anticipated against Jonas within the district attorney’s office.

“Mr. Jonas was remorseful from the beginning and was cooperative and admitted his conduct,” Livesay said.

He added that Jonas does not appear to have been singled out for either harsh or favorable treatment in the attorney general’s decision to file the charge.

Jonas and District Attorney Ira Reiner declined comment on the filing of charges.

Jonas’ lawyer, Warren L. Ettinger has described his client as a dedicated, hard-working prosecutor whose conduct showed he was “crying out for help.”

Livesay said Wednesday that the 17-year prosecutor “was trying on the professional side to do much more than one person is capable of doing -- so he was extended.

“Whether that over-extension is something that manifests itself in this kind of conduct, I don’t know,” Livesay aded. “I know not only in Mr. Jonas’ case but in others, expert psychiatrists have said that’s so.”

If convicted, Jonas, who has been prosecuting a capital murder case in addition to supervising 30 trial attorneys, would face a maximum penalty of six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine. Jonas already has lost about $6,000 in wages during his suspension.