Former Prosecutor Mayer Fined, Given Probation for Theft

A former prosecutor convicted of petty theft last month was placed on three years’ probation, fined $300 and ordered to complete a two-month Shoplifters Anonymous course by a Municipal Court judge Tuesday.

Judge Dick Murphy also directed Wayne Mayer, 41, to perform 100 hours of community service work through the United Way, attend weekly meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous for a year and abstain from drinking during the term of his probation.

In determining an appropriate sentence for the veteran deputy district attorney, Murphy said he had reminded himself that “Mr. Mayer should not be treated any differently from other defendants” convicted of petty theft.

“Mr. Mayer has suffered a lot through this process,” Murphy said. “He has suffered the embarrassment of two trials. He has lost his job with the district attorney’s office . . . (But) Mr. Mayer had a special position of responsibility to the community as a deputy district attorney and that was breached.”

Declined to Talk

Mayer, clad in a dark blue suit and accompanied by his wife, Gayle, walked briskly from the courthouse and declined to talk with reporters. His attorney, Peter Hughes, took issue with certain aspects of the sentence and said his client intends to appeal the conviction.

Deputy Atty. Gen. John Swan, who prosecuted Mayer after the district attorney’s office disqualified itself from the case, applauded the sentence, saying it mirrored that typically handed defendants in petty theft cases.

In court, however, Swan argued against requiring Mayer to work with the United Way. Instead, he recommended that the former prosecutor be assigned to Public Service Work, an agency that handles the majority of offenders who must labor on behalf of the community.

“It’s less of a white-collar work than United Way,” Swan said. “With Public Service Work, he’d be picking up trash on the highway . . . It would be more of a punishment for him and perhaps be of more meaning to him.”

Feared Harassment

Murphy countered, however, that he feared Mayer would be subject to “verbal harassment” and possibly physical endangerment if “word gets out at these work crews that Mr. Mayer is a former deputy district attorney.”

Hughes, meanwhile, had urged the judge to allow Mayer’s current involvement with a church program that aids the homeless to suffice for the court-mandated community work.

On Oct. 20, a Municipal Court jury found Mayer, 41, guilty of a single charge of petty theft. The verdict came five weeks after another jury deadlocked 9-3 for conviction on the misdemeanor charge.

A 10-year veteran of the district attorney’s office, Mayer was convicted of stealing a power saw and a drill from the bed of a pickup truck parked at Mission Bay’s DeAnza Cove in June. Mayer’s defense was built largely on his contention that stress caused in part from his role as co-prosecutor in the retrial of Sagon Penn had caused him to drink so heavily that he could not recall taking the tools. Penn had been charged with murder and other felony accusations in connection with the killing of a San Diego police officer and the wounding of another officer and a civilian observer. He was acquitted of murder and charges were dismissed when a jury deadlocked during retrial of the other charges.

Jurors Unconvinced

Jurors said after the second trial that they did not find the theory that Mayer suffered an “alcoholic blackout” convincing.

Mayer’s conviction represented his second brush with the law. In 1982, he was charged with stealing a fishing rod from a drugstore and was placed on probation after pleading no contest to a lesser charge. Mayer never told his supervisors in the district attorney’s office about the incident.

A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office said Mayer is the first prosecutor in memory convicted of a crime. Mayer, who had been on unpaid leave from his $65,000-a-year job since Sept. 29, resigned his post effective Nov. 1.

News of the conviction has been sent to the California Supreme Court, which, according to standard procedure, will forward it to the State Bar for evaluation. Typically, an attorney convicted of a crime is suspended pending the bar’s analysis of a conviction and recommendation of discipline to the Supreme Court.

Could be Disbarred

State Bar spokeswoman Anne Charles said a member convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude shall be stripped of his license to practice in California unless “the most compelling mitigating circumstances predominate.”

Other terms of Mayer’s sentence include a requirement that he pay $30 to the Crime Victim’s Fund, submit to tests for the presence of alcohol in his system whenever requested to do so, submit to searches of his person, home or vehicle at any time and violate no laws other than traffic infractions.

After announcing the sentence before a courtroom audience that included two judges and Mayer’s colleague on the Penn case, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Carpenter, Judge Murphy asked the tall, blond former prosecutor if he understood the terms of his sentence.

“Yes,” Mayer replied, barely audible.

“And do you accept them?” Murphy asked.

After a long pause, Mayer replied, in a near whisper: “Yes.”