Penn Prosecutor Faces Charge of Petty Theft

Wayne C. Mayer, one of two San Diego County prosecutors assigned to the Sagon Penn retrial, was charged Friday with petty theft in connection with the reported loss last month of tools from the back of a pickup truck.

The misdemeanor charge, filed by the state attorney general’s office, prompted Dist. Atty. Edwin Miller on Friday to suspend Mayer without pay until the case is resolved.

“In light of the criminal filing, that is really the only appropriate action,” district attorney’s spokeswoman Linda Miller said. “Once this case is resolved, we will take a look at the whole matter and make a decision about Wayne’s future status.”

Deputy Atty. Gen. John Swan said his office waited until after the Penn verdicts were announced on Thursday to file the charge against Mayer because it did not want to influence the jury. Penn was acquitted of the most serious charges in connection with the March 31, 1985, shooting of two San Diego police officers.

“There was just a concern that any additional publicity regarding the people involved in that case might have some effect or appear to have some effect on the jury,” Swan said.

Mayer, 41, who was charged 4 1/2 years ago with petty theft and later pleaded no contest to a lesser offense, faces a maximum penalty of six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine. Mayer, who could not be reached for comment, was informed of the charge and his suspension on Friday by Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Brian Michaels.

Is on Paid Leave

Mayer has taken paid compensatory leave since shortly after it was reported a month ago that he was under investigation by the attorney general’s office in the theft. A witness reported on June 14 that the driver of a motor home registered to Mayer removed the tools from a pickup parked at DeAnza Cove, put them in the motor home and drove off. The witness gave a description of the suspect that matched Mayer’s profile.

In the earlier theft case, Mayer never told his supervisors about the plea bargain arrangement, which was negotiated with the San Diego city attorney’s office. In that case he was charged in October, 1982, with stealing a fishing reel from the Longs Drug Store in Serra Mesa.

According to Municipal Court records, Mayer pleaded no contest in February, 1983, to a reduced charge of trespassing. He was fined $250, but the sentence was suspended pending his successful completion of a three-year probation.

Mayer told the arresting officer in the case that he was a college teacher and gave his business address as National University’s Mission Valley campus.