D.A. Charges Officer in Assault Claim : Crime: Homeless man’s allegations that a police officer punched him and left him bleeding result in felony assault charges.

For the first time in 2 1/2 years, a San Diego police officer has been charged with felony assault for allegedly punching a homeless man in the nose and leaving him bloodied in downtown San Diego.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Luis Aragon confirmed Tuesday that a single felony charge of assault and battery by an officer was filed Monday and that patrol officer Michael A. Moller, 31, had been sent a notification letter to appear at his arraignment on July 20.

Notification letters are typically sent in cases where the prosecutor believes the accused is not a flight risk. Otherwise, an arrest warrant is issued.

The criminal charge against Moller, a three-year veteran assigned to the central division, is the result of a March 13 incident in which Michael Carvajal, a 32-year-old man who gave authorities an address in Poway but is believed to be homeless, was taken to Mercy Hospital and treated for a broken nose.

Carvajal told hospital officials he had been punched by a San Diego police officer at the corner of Third and Elm streets and left there. San Diego police internal affairs investigators examined the allegations and turned over the criminal case to Aragon’s office, which decided to prosecute.

Aragon, a member of the district attorney’s special operations division, said he did not know whether Carvajal was employed at the time of the incident or whether he was working now. Aragon released few details about Carvajal and declined to discuss the details of what happened on March 13.

Sources close to the investigation, however, say that Moller, the son of police Capt. Kenneth Moller, was accompanied by two other officers the night of the alleged assault and both will be witnesses for the prosecution.

None of the three officers filed a police report nor did they transport Carvajal to the hospital in accordance with department policy, sources said, and all are subject to discipline.

One of the officers expected to be a witness, Mark L. Keyser, was charged with felony assault 3 1/2 years ago.

Keyser and former San Diego officer David A. Nellis, were accused of kicking a handcuffed drug suspect in a Southeast San Diego cemetery after a high-speed chase in November, 1988.

Keyser and Nellis, now a Chula Vista police officer, each faced up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Keyser and Nellis were acquitted in April, 1989, after a week-long trial. The jury deliberated only 2 hours and 45 minutes before rendering its verdict.

The name of the third officer involved was not available.

Moller, who also faces three years in prison and a $10,000 fine, has been placed on administrative assignment pending both the criminal investigation and a separate internal disciplinary examination that will begin after the criminal case is resolved, Police Chief Bob Burgreen said Tuesday.

“I am aware of the case and (Moller) has been removed from the street,” Burgreen said. “It is up to the district attorney to decide whether to file a charge against an officer and it is an appropriate role. I support the DA’s office and have no comment about the guilt or innocence of this officer. That is up to the criminal justice system.”

Moller’s attorney said the officer is not guilty.

“My client will plead innocent at his arraignment and will aggressively try and clear his record,” said Everett Bobbitt, who represents police officers accused of on-duty misconduct.

Before he became a police officer, Moller was involved in two controversial shootings. In 1981, two off-duty sheriff’s deputies fired their guns at Moller, then 21, and a friend at a Hillcrest taco shop after an argument. The deputies were convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 90 days in a county work furlough program.

One of the deputies reached a $100,000 out-of-court settlement with Moller and three other men at the scene.

In 1986, a 22-year-old man shot at Moller outside a Mission Bay disco after an argument and killed a bystander who was sitting in a car in the parking lot. In April, 1987, the 22-year-old was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and attempted manslaughter of Moller.

Since 1986, the district attorney’s office has charged 61 officers in San Diego County with criminal misconduct, spokesman Steven J. Casey said. In all, 29 have pleaded guilty and seven have been convicted. Twelve have been acquitted and seven have had charges dismissed by either a jury or a judge. Six cases are still pending.

Eleven officers of the 61 have been charged with on-duty use of excessive force. Of those, three pleaded guilty and two were convicted. Three were acquitted and three had charges dismissed.

The last time San Diego officers were charged with felony assault was January, 1990, when Lloyd J. Hoff Jr. and Richard P. Schaaf, were arrested on suspicion of robbing and kidnaping three illegal aliens during a downtown patrol.

In May, 1990, a jury found the officers not guilty after two days of deliberation.

A Look at Charges Against Officers

Since 1986, the San Diego County district attorney’s office has filed criminal charges against 61 law enforcement officials:

29 pleaded guilty.

6 were convicted by a jury.

1 was convicted by a judge.

10 were acquitted by a jury.

2 were acquitted by a judge.

3 had charges dismissed after hung juries.

4 had charges dismissed by a judge.

6 cases are pending.

Of the 61 officers, 11 were charged with on-duty use of excessive force:

3 pleaded guilty.

2 were convicted.

2 were acquitted by a jury.

1 was acquitted by a judge.

2 had charges dismissed after hung juries.

1 had charges dismissed by a judge.