LAWNDALE : Ex-Official Denies Dognaping Charges
Former Planning Commissioner Edie Warwick has pleaded not guilty to holding lost property and delaying an investigation in a case in which Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies say Warwick kept a dog from its rightful owner.
Warwick’s attorney, Michael Rotsten, entered the plea Thursday after more than a month of delay. Warwick, who was not present at the hearing, had been granted extra time by Judge Thomas P. Allen to find a lawyer. Other charges against Warwick, including filing a false police report, were held over until Warwick’s next court appearance, Dec. 19, Rotsten said.
The charges stem from a saga that began Sept. 16 when Warwick refused to turn over a black chow she calls Lady to Joseph and Vicky French. The Frenches say the dog--whom they call Cassie--is theirs. Sheriff’s detectives pressed charges against Warwick, who later said the dog disappeared from her back yard.
Rotsten said the district attorney has yet to show that the Frenches are the rightful owners of the dog.
The dog is still missing.
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