Arraignment in ‘3 Strikes’ Burglary Case Postponed : Courts: Tustin man has three felony convictions, including rape. He is a prime candidate for life term, says deputy D.A.

Arraignment for a burglary suspect and convicted rapist, facing the newly enacted “three-strikes” law was postponed 10 days on Tuesday, authorities said.

But Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Del Wright said Dennis Alan Ferrier, 38, of Tustin is a prime candidate to spend the rest of his life in prison under the terms of the new law.

“I would think this is probably an appropriate case,” Wright said. The law was not in effect when Ferrier was convicted for a third time in 1986 on a burglary charge and parole violations.

Ferrier allegedly broke into the home of Roger and Katrina Roelle of Costa Mesa on Sunday.

Katrina Roelle first spotted an intruder reflected off the mirrors of her closet doors at about 3 a.m., said her husband on Tuesday. The couple was asleep.

“She spotted him standing there, at the foot of the bed,” said Roger Roelle, an assistant football coach at Corona del Mar High School. “My reaction was to jump right over the bed. I saw nothing (because of the darkness), but I knew something was there.”

The intruder took off and stumbled down the stairs with Roelle following him.

“He was tripping all over his feet to get out (of the apartment),” Roelle said. “I’m pulling my pants up and trying to catch this guy at the same time.”

Roelle said he wondered if the intruder was armed, but continued the chase through the apartment. He said he was angry because the man could return and harm his wife and their 2 1/2-year-old son.

The chase continued outside the apartment, where, Roelle said, “we made eye contact. I saw his hands and he didn’t have a gun.

“I saw he was afraid to death, and that fear I had in the bedroom was gone,” Roelle said.

Roelle cornered the intruder and they fought. The man tried to escape several times, only to be subdued, Roelle said.

Within a minute, Costa Mesa police officers arrived and arrested Ferrier, he said. Roelle sustained asphalt burns from the fight. Ferrier suffered cuts and bruises.

In a telephone interview Tuesday, Roelle said the fact that Ferrier is facing the three-strikes law does not impress him.

“They keep talking about the good that the law is going to be doing, but this isn’t a baseball game. It should be one strike and you’re done,” Roelle said. “I know what the word violation means, I have a taste of it now. My wife is really upset. We’re moving. She can’t get the picture of the guy standing in front of the mirror out of her mind.”

Harbor Court Clerk Christine Whitaker said arraignment of Ferrier on a residential burglary charge and the three-strikes allegation was postponed until May 20 at the request of Public Defender James Spellman, Ferrier’s temporary lawyer.

Ferrier has three felony convictions, the first one for the 1979 rape of a woman. In 1984, Ferrier was convicted on charges of burglary and trespassing. His third conviction came in 1986, on burglary and parole violation charges.