Court Orders Reinstatement of Perjury Charges in Grasha Case
A state appellate court ordered perjury charges reinstated Tuesday against Steve A. Grasha, former candidate for the Buena Park City Council.
Justices of the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana ruled that enough evidence exists that Grasha falsely claimed residence in Buena Park last year to require him to stand trial for perjury.
The unanimous opinion by a three-judge panel of the court reversed an August decision by Superior Court Judge James J. Alfano. Alfano had overturned a magistrate’s judge’s decision that Grasha should stand trial.
The justices noted that they had decided only that Grasha should stand trial, not that there is enough evidence to sustain a conviction.
They rejected Grasha’s claim that prosecutors failed to show that he lived outside of Buena Park.
Prosecutors, said the opinion, presented enough facts to “support the magistrate’s conclusion Grasha did not live in Buena Park.”
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