Attorney Held on Suspicion of Helping Client to Hide

A San Diego defense lawyer is being held on $500,000 bail after he allegedly helped a client who is charged with operating a high-class prostitution ring elude authorities, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office said Tuesday.

Buford B. Wiley Jr. was arrested Monday after authorities developed information indicating that Wiley helped the client, Karen Wilkening, go into hiding almost 20 months ago, said the spokesman, Steve Casey.

Wilkening failed to appear for the second day of her preliminary hearing in Superior Court in September, 1987, on charges that she ran a prostitution ring out of her Linda Vista condominium. Wilkening, who has been charged with 28 counts of pimping and pandering, has since been taken into custody, Casey said, but he would give no details about the arrest or where she was being detained.

Arraignment Rescheduled

Wiley was being held in the County Jail downtown. His arraignment was postponed Tuesday afternoon by Municipal Judge Lillian Lim Quon because the district attorney’s office had not filed formal charges. The arraignment was rescheduled for today.

Casey said he expects that Wiley will be charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, impersonation and accessory to a felony.

Michael L. Lipman, a San Diego lawyer who was present at Municipal Court on Tuesday and said he might represent Wiley, said he could not respond to the allegations until charges were filed.

Casey said Wiley was arrested by officers from the San Diego Metropolitan Homicide Task Force after the group received information that Wiley allegedly helped in Wilkening’s flight. The task force has been investigating a series of murders involving suspected prostitutes in the San Diego area. But Casey said Wiley is not under investigation in connection with any of the murders.

As part of its investigation of Wiley, Casey said, the task force conducted searches Monday and Tuesday of his home and office and the offices of car dealer Tony McCune in National City, among other sites. Casey would not say why McCune’s offices were searched. A woman who answered the telephone at McCune’s office Tuesday afternoon said McCune was not available for comment.

Wiley has been involved in other publicized cases, such as the successful defense of Ray Ortiz, former registrar of voters in San Diego County. Wiley represented a co-defendant of Ortiz, Lance Gough, an Escondido elections consultant who was acquitted on a theft charge.