Just the Facts, Please : Grand jury is obviously needed to investigate that mysterious Malibu ranch raid

A year after an ill-fated drug raid led to the death of reclusive Malibu millionaire Donald P. Scott, troubling and persistent questions cloud a case in which even some elementary facts have yet to be firmly established. Indeed, the most recent investigation, far from closing the book on the incident, has created even more controversy.

On Oct. 2, 1992, federal, state and local law enforcement officers descended on Scott’s Trail’s End Ranch, in a part of the Santa Monica Mountains that extends into both Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Authorities--acting on information supplied by an informant and by airplane surveillance--expected to seize a large number of marijuana plants. In the raid, no marijuana plants were found . . . but Scott was shot to death by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy.

An inquiry into the operation by Ventura Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury determined that the shooting was justifiable self-defense: Scott had pointed a pistol at the deputy who shot him. However, Bradbury found that the same deputy had lied to obtain the search warrant for the raid. The district attorney also concluded that the raid itself was prompted primarily by the desire of federal and local authorities to seize the $5-million ranch under federal asset forfeiture laws.

L.A. County Sheriff Sherman Block, following his own investigation of the incident, bitterly attacked the report, saying it was “riddled with inaccuracies and misrepresentations.” He also accused Bradbury of having intentionally distorted the facts, and he requested a state inquiry into Bradbury’s conduct.

Recently allegations were published that a Ventura County assistant D.A. was involuntarily transferred for preparing a report--never publicly released--that found no evidence of conspiracy among government officials. It was alleged that in her report Deputy D.A. Carol Nelson contradicted her boss by backing Sheriff Block’s contention that deputies had probable cause to believe marijuana was being grown at the Scott estate.

Given the contradictory facts and the bitter accusations, an independent outside investigation is clearly in order. Basic questions about what prompted the raid, how it was carried out and how carefully the raid was investigated must be satisfactorily answered. A year later, it’s time for an independent probe of this case. It could be done by the Los Angeles or Ventura County Grand Jury, a combination of the two or by the state attorney general’s office. But somebody’s got to get to the bottom of a very messy situation.