Admitted Drug Seller Asks to Withdraw Guilty Plea

A new attorney for a Northridge man who had admitted selling cocaine across the street from a Reseda school for the disabled insisted Wednesday in U. S. District Court that his client is innocent and was pressured into pleading guilty.

Michael Enders, 19, faced up to 60 years in prison at his sentencing, which had been set for Wednesday. But U. S. District Judge William Keller granted the request of Enders’ new attorney, Gerald V. Scotti, to postpone sentencing until Oct. 15 so Scotti can make a formal motion to withdraw the guilty plea.

Attorney Jeffrey Weiss, who had entered Enders’ guilty plea on July 21, was excused from the case.

Enders had pleaded guilty to selling a total of 4.8 grams of cocaine to undercover police on April 14 and May 1, across the street from Diane S. Leichman High School in Reseda, a school for the disabled.

Under new federal anti-drug legislation signed last October, selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school doubles the maximum penalty for the offense and requires a minimum one-year prison term.

Assistant U. S. Atty. Thomas K. Buck said the Enders case is one of the first such “schoolyard” prosecutions in Los Angeles.

In court Wednesday, Scotti told the judge he believes Enders entered his plea based on incomplete legal advice and was incorrectly identified by a witness in the case.

“We believe Mr. Enders is factually innocent,” Scotti said. “We received 11th-hour information from a witness in the case Sunday evening. We also believe Mr. Enders was pressured into pleading and he was not made fully aware of all defenses.”

Keller noted that he accepted the plea only because he believed there was a factual basis for it. But he reluctantly agreed to let Scotti argue for a withdrawal, saying Enders should be “given the opportunity to put his best foot forward.”

Laina Cormack, 18, of Reseda, alleged to be Enders’ accomplice, pleaded guilty July 21 to lesser cocaine charges. She faces up to 40 years in prison when she is sentenced Oct. 15.