San Clemente Man Accused of AIDS Assault

Misdemeanor charges were filed Monday against a San Clemente man who claimed he had AIDS when he allegedly spit in the eye of a 73-year-old woman protesting outside a rally for then-Gov. Bill Clinton.

Prosecutors rejected a request by police that a felony charge of assault with intent to commit murder be filed against David Mazer, 45, saying there is no evidence that saliva can transmit the deadly human immunodeficiency virus.

HIV, which causes AIDS, is transmitted primarily through unprotected sexual intercourse and use of contaminated hypodermic needles.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Del Wright said this is apparently the first case in Orange County in which a defendant is accused of using AIDS as a weapon in an assault.

Last October, Elizabeth Mimm of Mission Viejo was standing outside a Clinton rally at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, holding a placard supporting former President George Bush, when she was approached by Mazer, officials said.

Mazer screamed that Bush was the reason he was HIV-infected and then spit in her eye, police said.

Mimm has tested negative for HIV, but lives in fear that she will contract the virus, her attorney said. She has filed a civil suit against Mazer, alleging that he intentionally inflicted emotional distress and harm during the incident.

She filed suit in part to force Mazer to reveal his HIV status, said attorney Thomas G. Reinecke. Mazer has refused to reveal whether he carries the virus, but prosecutors will seek a court order for that information, Wright said.

If convicted on the misdemeanor assault and battery charges, Mazer faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.