Long Beach : Courageous Citizen Awards Go to 4 in Court Ceremony

A former prosecutor who came to the aid of a bailiff being attacked by a robbery suspect in a Long Beach courtroom was one of four people to receive a Courageous Citizen Award from Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner.

James Slevin, 41, a former deputy district attorney, had just won a robbery conviction March 16 when the defendant attacked the bailiff who attempted to handcuff him.

Slevin grabbed the defendant and the three men wrestled across the courtroom, falling on tables, chairs and into a file cabinet. Slevin injured his back and hand in the struggle, but by then, help had arrived. The defendant is now serving a five-year prison term.

The three other awards, distributed at the Long Beach courthouse by Reiner, went to a 64-year-old Los Angeles man who, while recovering from a heart attack, detained a burglar half his age; a truck driver who thwarted a purse-snatching theft, and a Venice man who helped capture a burglar breaking into the apartment building where he lives.

Also honored with a scroll was Richard Martinez, 35, of Long Beach, a scaffold company owner who shared his regrets about being a high school dropout for an anti-truancy videotape made by Reiner’s office. Martinez left Long Beach Polytechnic High School after one month of attendance. The tape is being distributed throughout the county to encourage students to stay in school.