Prosecutors Target 2 Suspects for 1st ‘3-Strikes’ Cases in Valley : Crime: Scott McKissick, charged with drug possession, and Leon Blunt, held in car theft, are both ex-convicts.

In the first “three-strikes” cases in the San Fernando Valley, authorities Thursday picked a man shot while allegedly trying to steal a car at El Camino Real High School, and a second man arrested on suspicion of drug possession who was stopped for not wearing a seat belt.

Because both defendants have two prior convictions, each faces 25 years to life in prison under the new “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” law that went into effect Monday.

“This is not exactly the type of case I envisioned crossing my desk,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert L. Cohen, who filed the drug case. “However, we are here to enforce the law as it is written.”

The defendant, Scott McKissick, a 33-year-old Chatsworth man, was charged with possessing .08 of a gram of methamphetamine.

“It’s a usable quantity,” Cohen said.

McKissick pleaded not guilty Thursday in Van Nuys Municipal Court and was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 bail. He was arrested Tuesday afternoon after Los Angeles police officers saw him walking in Van Nuys “in a slow, deliberate, slumped manner,” Cohen said. McKissick entered a car and police stopped it when they saw McKissick was not wearing a seat belt.

He was initially arrested on charges of being under the influence, but officers later found a glass vial containing suspected drugs, according to Cohen.

McKissick was convicted of armed robbery in 1981 and armed residential burglary in 1986, authorities said, but no further details were available.

If McKissick had no record, the case probably would have been filed as a misdemeanor, Cohen said, and he would likely have been placed in a drug diversion program instead of being sent to jail.

In the second case, to be filed today in Van Nuys Municipal Court, Leon Blunt will be charged with assault on a police officer for allegedly attempting to run over a Los Angeles Unified School District police officer at Reseda High School on Wednesday, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Larry Diamond.

Authorities said Blunt, a 38-year-old Los Angeles man on parole from an auto theft conviction, has an extensive criminal record.

The case was prepared late Thursday afternoon by Deputy Dist. Atty. Larry Diamond, who said the criminal complaint will allege that Blunt was previously convicted of robbery, attempted robbery and auto theft.

After allegedly stealing a car, Blunt and a second man were seen cruising the parking lot at El Camino High on Wednesday, Diamond said.

Officer Aaron Mengazzi saw the two allegedly breaking into a student’s vehicle and approached, but Blunt allegedly attempted to run over the officer with the car, “coming within a foot of him,” Diamond said.

Mengazzi dodged the car and shot, hitting Blunt in the leg, he said.

Blunt was arrested without further incident.