Reiner Denies Bias in Charging Men With Beating Denny

Race was not a factor in filing torture, aggravated mayhem and attempted murder charges against three men accused of assaulting trucker Reginald O. Denny and 12 other people at the outset of rioting in Los Angeles last year, former Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner testified Friday.

“I authorized those charges because I thought they were absolutely appropriate,” Reiner said in response to a question from Deputy Dist. Atty. Lawrence C. Morrison.

“They accurately described the savage behavior of these defendants,” Reiner said. “The defendants were vicious. They were sadistic. They glorified in the pain and suffering of innocent people.”

He said he “threw the book” at the defendants and, given the evidence in the case, would have authorized filing the same charges against anyone, regardless of race.

Reiner’s testimony came at a hearing on a defense effort to dismiss charges against Damian Monroe Williams, 20; Antoine Eugene Miller, 21, and Henry Keith Watson, 28, because of alleged discriminatory prosecution.

Torture charges were later dropped, and only Williams is charged with aggravated mayhem. All three are charged with attempted murder and face possible life sentences if convicted.

Attorney James R. Gillen, who represents Miller, spent most of Friday’s court session trying to establish that charges against his client are excessive and were filed only because Miller is black.

Superior Court Judge John W. Ouderkirk, who is presiding over the case, cautioned Gillen several times against raising his voice at Reiner, who frequently chided Gillen for apparently not understanding his answers.

At one point, when Gillen asked a question restating an example Reiner had given to describe the district attorney’s procedures for filing charges, Reiner answered: “You have just messed up the whole example. I tried to make it real simple. I thought I had brought it down to an irreducible minimum.”

Gillen has steadfastly maintained that Miller was overcharged because prosecutors have produced no evidence showing him engaging in any acts of violence against Denny. Reiner testified Friday that Miller was charged with offenses that carry a life sentence because he aided and abetted those who actually attacked Denny.

Gillen and attorney J. Patrick Maginnis, who also represents Miller, were the only defense lawyers who decided to question Reiner.

Attorney Edi M. O. Faal, who represents Williams, said outside court that he would not question Reiner because Ouderkirk had already ruled that the former prosecutor could not be asked about the Rodney G. King case.

“I think anyone who attempts to examine Mr. Reiner under these circumstances may wind up looking like a fool,” he said.

Reiner testified that he had never filed mayhem or torture charges against another defendant.

“The only time you ever authorized the filing of torture and mayhem charges was against African-Americans?” Gillen asked.

The charges had “absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they are African-American,” Reiner answered.

Outside court, Faal dismissed Friday’s court session as being useless, saying that it was not a hearing on discriminatory prosecution.

“I didn’t hear any evidence on discriminatory prosecution,” he said. “The truth about discriminatory prosecution will never come out in a hearing such as today’s.”

Faal said the issue of whether charges should be dismissed because of discriminatory prosecution cannot be examined without comparing the Denny and King cases. Ouderkirk ruled Wednesday that defense attorneys had not provided sufficient legal grounds to compare the Denny beating case with any of several cases about which they wanted to question witnesses.

Faal said he would appeal that ruling by Monday in state court and is prepared to pursue his appeal through the federal courts if necessary.

Ouderkirk’s ruling Wednesday also excluded testimony by all but three defense witnesses--Reiner, Deputy Dist. Atty. Terry White, who prosecuted the unsuccessful state case against the four officers accused of beating King, and former state Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp.

Defense attorneys said they will not call White to testify because Ouderkirk has ruled that he cannot be questioned about the King beating case. Late Friday, defense attorneys were still considering whether they would seek testimony--scheduled Monday--from Van de Kamp, also a former Los Angeles County district attorney.

Defense attorneys have argued that the district attorney’s office charges African-American defendants with more serious offenses than white defendants arrested under similar circumstances--an allegation that prosecutors deny.