Laidlaw Driver Pleads Guilty to Perjury, Drunk Driving

A school bus driver with five previous drunk-driving convictions, who was intoxicated when he arrived to pick up a bus load of children at an Encino elementary school, pleaded guilty on Thursday to drunk-driving and perjury charges.

Harold Keith Lone, 40, of Los Angeles pleaded guilty in Van Nuys Municipal Court to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and one count of perjury for using an alias to secure a driver’s license and a job as a school bus driver with Laidlaw Transit Co.

Prosecutors alleged that Lone used the name Harold Keith Holmes to hide his lengthy criminal record, which included arrests for robbery, burglary and auto theft.

In exchange for Lone’s guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop an additional count of driving under the influence and a count of driving with a suspended license.

If he had been convicted on all four counts, Lone would have faced a maximum sentence of four years and eight months in prison. He now faces a maximum prison term of two years and eight months. But Lone’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Thom Tibor, said the judge in the case has said he is likely to sentence Lone to a term of two years.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Glora Mas said prosecutors agreed to drop the additional charges because Lone pleaded guilty before his preliminary hearing, sparing the public the expense and witnesses the inconvenience of a trial. She added that Lone’s sentence is longer than is usually received by people convicted of drunken driving.

Judge Aviva K. Bobb scheduled sentencing for April 30 in Van Nuys Superior Court.

Outside of court before the hearing, Lone denied that he was drinking when arrested.

“If I raised five kids of my own and 10 nieces and nephews, why would I turn around and endanger other people’s kids?” said Lone.

Lone was arrested by Los Angeles police Jan. 16 as he arrived at Lanai Street Elementary School to pick up 57 children.

He was staggering, his speech was slurred and he appeared confused, police said. A breath test showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.27%--more than three times the new legal limit of 0.08%, police said.

A motorist called police on his car phone after he saw Lone’s bus--occupied only by the driver--weaving across three lanes of the northbound Hollywood Freeway at speeds of up to 70 m.p.h., police said.

Department of Motor Vehicle records showed that Lone has five prior drunk-driving convictions dating to 1982. His driver’s license was suspended in 1983, but he continued to drive despite repeated warnings not to do so, police said.