Guilty of 2nd Felony : Jurors Acquit Man of Threat to Kill Judge

A 36-year-old Sepulveda man was acquitted Tuesday of threatening to kill a San Fernando municipal judge.

But the Superior Court jury found Michael Cartier guilty of a felony--dissuading and intimidating a witness, his wife Linda, who told authorities in May that her husband had threatened to kill Judge Gregg Marcus.

Linda Cartier, who later recanted her account of the alleged threat, failed to show up for her husband’s trial in Van Nuys Superior Court. Authorities said she cannot be located.

The incident stemmed from a spat in which she fired five shots at her husband with a .357 magnum handgun, authorities said. Because of the incident, Marcus sentenced Linda Cartier to 45 days in jail and three years’ probation for violating her probation in a drunk-driving case.

‘Dead Meat’

A day after the sentencing, authorities said, Linda Cartier gave the judge a sworn statement in which she quoted her husband as saying: “The judge is dead meat.”

Los Angeles police arrested Michael Cartier later the same day, May 28. He had a shotgun in his pickup truck, police said.

During his trial, Deputy Dist. Atty. Norman F. Montrose presented portions of Linda Cartier’s sworn statement. And Marcus testified that he feared Cartier intended to carry out the threat. But the jury also was told that Linda Cartier had testified in a preliminary hearing that she had lied to Marcus about the threat.

Jurors said outside the courtroom that, although they believed Cartier made the threat, they were not convinced that he was serious.

“Possibly he was just doing it to show off to his wife, or just to intimidate her,” said juror Walt Zozula, 41, of Tujunga.

Judge Alan B. Haber ordered Cartier held until his sentencing Jan. 12 on the felony intimidation charge. Cartier faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison. He has been in custody since his arrest.

Defense attorney Michael J. Phelan said Marcus and others overreacted.