LOS ANGELES : Fistell, Wife Plead Not Guilty to Felony Charges

Radio talk show host Ira Fistell and his wife, Tonda, entered not guilty pleas Thursday to felony hit and run charges stemming from a fatal February traffic collision in which a Culver City teen-ager was killed.

After the brief arraignment proceedings, Municipal Judge Craig E. Veals scheduled a May 9 court session to set a preliminary hearing date.

Fistell, who recently returned to the KABC airwaves, said he left the site of the crash by cab to report to work on time. His wife was charged with “aiding and abetting” Fistell by informing police that she was the driver, even though she did not arrive at the scene until called by her husband shortly after the accident.

Fistell’s attorney, Robert Schwartz, indicated after Thursday’s hearing a possible willingness to resolve the case through a plea bargain if the charges were reduced to a misdemeanor.

Deputy Dist. Atty. John Morris, who is prosecuting the Fistells, said, “Presently, I do not intend on offering a misdemeanor in the case to Mr. Fistell.”

If convicted of the felony offense of leaving the scene of a fatal hit-and-run accident, the Fistells could each face a maximum term of four years in state prison.

Killed in the accident was Janna Banks, 16, a passenger in a car driven by Josh DeJean, 19, which collided with Fistell’s car at Venice and Hauser boulevards. The city attorney’s office has not decided whether to file charges against DeJean--who suffered a broken bone in his neck--based on evidence that he was driving at an excessive rate of speed when the collision occurred.