Court Order Is No Laughing Matter for Clown

A professional clown was ordered Tuesday to clean up garbage surrounding his Mission Hills home or face up to eight months in jail, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office said.

Van Nuys Municipal Judge Alice Altoon sentenced Terry Knutson, 41, after jurors convicted him on six counts, including maintaining a rodent harborage, permitting fire-hazardous refuse to accumulate inside and outside a dwelling, and permitting trash, debris, garbage and overgrown vegetation to accumulate on a lot, said Ted Goldstein, a spokesman for the city attorney’s office. Goldstein said Knutson told authorities that he works as a professional clown under the name “Clownzo.”

The criminal misdemeanor complaint against Knutson stemmed from his refusal to comply with city building and safety and fire codes by cleaning up garbage--including newspapers, clothing and lumber--inside and outside his residence in the 15000 block of Vintage Street, Goldstein said.

Knutson’s neighbors have complained to city officials for the past 15 years about garbage accumulating on his property, Goldstein said. The house and lot have been the site of many investigations by city fire, building and safety inspectors and animal regulators, he said.

“He’s a pack rat extraordinaire,” Goldstein said. “City Atty. James Hahn described the lot as an eyesore to the neighborhood and the community.”

Altoon ordered Knutson to clean up the outside of his house by Dec. 15, and the inside by Jan. 15, or face four months in jail for each deadline he misses, Goldstein said.

Knutson was also placed on three years probation and ordered to pay $535 in investigative costs. Goldstein said Knutson was convicted in 1989 of assaulting a city fire inspector. The inspector was removing garbage from Knutson’s yard when Knutson attacked him with a nail-studded board, Goldstein said.