Wife Sentenced to Jail, but It’s Her Husband Who Ends Up Behind Bars

A 36-year-old Reseda man whose wife fired five bullets at him was charged Tuesday with threatening to kill a San Fernando municipal judge who ordered the woman to spend 45 days in jail in the case.

In a bizarre marital tale, the husband rose to his wife’s defense and told her he would shoot Judge Gregg Marcus “in the back, in the spine” if Marcus followed through with his plans to jail her, the woman told authorities.

“ ‘The judge is dead meat,’ ” Linda Cartier, 34, quoted her husband as saying.

On the basis of her sworn statement in court last Thursday, police arrested Michael David Cartier as he was driving near his home about 9 p.m. that night. In his pickup truck, officers found a shotgun and shells, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Larry Diamond.

Municipal Judge Michael S. Luros, a Marcus colleague, imposed $1.5-million bail after Cartier’s arrest, a figure that defense attorney Michael J. Phelan criticized Tuesday as “an absolute absurdity.”

“Everybody connected with this case overreacted,” Phelan said.

Typical Bail Is $30,000

The typical bail on such a charge is about $30,000, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Larry Diamond. However, Diamond defended the high figure in court Tuesday, saying it prevented Cartier from gaining release and carrying out his reported plan.

“It’s our theory that he was driving around seeking out the judge’s residence,” Diamond said.

Van Nuys Municipal Commissioner Patricia Gorner Schwartz reduced the bail to $500,000 Tuesday after Cartier entered a not-guilty plea at his arraignment.

Cartier’s arrest occurred the day after Marcus, 43, placed Linda Cartier on three years’ probation and ordered her to serve 45 days in County Jail. Marcus delayed imposition of the jail term until July 10 and told Linda Cartier that he would consider a further postponement if she stayed out of trouble, court records show.

Probation Violation

The sentence came after Linda Cartier violated probation on an earlier drunk-driving conviction by firing five rounds from a .357 magnum at her husband March 6, court records show. The assault grew out of a marital spat, the prosecutor in the case said.

“This is a sick couple with a lot of emotional problems,” Deputy City. Atty. Susan Lopez said Tuesday.

Linda Cartier went to Marcus last Thursday and testified under oath that her husband had threatened to kill the judge in retaliation for the sentence and to kill her if she informed on him, court records show.

According to a transcript of her testimony before Marcus, Linda Cartier said her husband planned to alter his looks by shaving his beard and cutting his hair. He then intended to dress in black and wait for the judge to leave the courthouse in his car, she said.

“If you don’t see me around here tonight,” she quoted her husband saying, “you may see Judge Marcus’ name in the paper.”

Recants Accusation

However, the case against Cartier appeared to be weakened only minutes after his arraignment. Outside court, his wife announced to reporters that she had lied about the whole affair and would not serve as a witness against him.

“I will not testify. I’m willing to say I committed perjury,” Linda Cartier said. “I lied and I want my husband home.”

Linda Cartier confirmed that her husband said he wanted to kill the judge but said she “took it the wrong way.”

“Mike couldn’t kill anybody,” she said. “He was blowing off steam. Everybody says things like that.”

Asked why she would have lied, Linda Cartier replied that she was “scared” that the judge would jail her on the probation violation unless she related her husband’s “idle” threat.

Her recantation to reporters raised questions about whether prosecutors could force her to testify against her spouse. Under most conditions, private marital communications are privileged, and prosecutors cannot order such testimony.

Breach of Marital Privilege

Prosecutor Diamond said, however, that he will proceed with the case on the legal theory that the marital privilege was breached when Cartier threatened to kill his wife. A defendant cannot claim the marital protection if he commits a crime against a third party while committing a crime against the spouse, Diamond said.

If Linda Cartier is forced to testify and denies that her husband threatened the judge, Diamond said, prosecutors could use her sworn statement from last week against her.

Cartier, an unemployed driver for the film industry, pleaded innocent to one count of threatening a judge, one count of dissuading a witness (his wife) and one count of threatening a witness (his wife).

Cartier’s attorney criticized Marcus for holding the hearing in his chambers last Thursday and quizzing Linda Cartier under oath without a prosecutor or defense attorney present.

“The judge was completely out of line in becoming the interrogator,” Phelan said outside court. “He acted as judge, jury and prosecutor.”

Actions Defended

In a telephone interview, Marcus defended his actions as necessary to gather sworn testimony as quickly as possible. He added that he considers the threat real.

“I think that their propensity to commit dangerous acts . . . is something you don’t take lightly,” Marcus said. “I think, in due course, the truth about it will come out and bear out what she said under oath.”

The presiding judge of the Municipal Court ordered the case transferred downtown to be heard by a visiting judge from another county, Commissioner Schwartz said Tuesday, eliminating any conflict of interest between colleagues.

Cartier is scheduled to appear today in Los Angeles Municipal Court to set a date for his preliminary hearing.