Biker to Be Prosecuted Under ‘3 Strikes Law’ : Arraignment: Valley man who was tackled after police chase pleads not guilty to DUI and other charges.

The motorcyclist who was subdued by residents after a half-hour police chase has served prison terms for previous drunk-driving convictions and will be prosecuted under California’s new “three strikes” law, according to court records and prosecutors.

Richard Patrick Lattanzio, 39, of Canoga Park, who was first arrested for drunk driving in 1986, had been convicted in 1983 of attempted arson, considered a serious felony under the three strikes law.

In all, Lattanzio has been convicted of drunk driving at least five times. At his 1992 sentencing after his fifth conviction, he was told his license would be suspended for four years.

“I haven’t had one for 20 years,” he responded, according to court records.

Under the three strikes law, if convicted of a second serious felony, a defendant faces double the maximum sentence, plus a year for each previous prison term. In this case, that would mean a maximum sentence of eight years in prison, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Herbert Lapin.

Lattanzio on Thursday pleaded not guilty in Van Nuys Municipal Court to evading arrest--a serious felony, hit-and-run, driving with a suspended license and two counts of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

He remains in custody in lieu of $155,000 bail. He is scheduled to return to court May 8 for a preliminary hearing.

Details of Lattanzio’s 1983 conviction for attempted arson were not immediately available. However, Lapin said the defendant apparently had not been sentenced to prison.

According to court records, Lattanzio was convicted three times in 1986 for drunk driving. When he was arrested in 1990 for the same offense, he was convicted and sentenced to 16 months in prison and his driver’s license was suspended for three years.

He was arrested again in 1992 for drunk driving, and sentenced this time to two years, four months in prison. His license was suspended for four years and he was ordered to complete an alcohol program requiring a court referral to regain his license. He was paroled from prison in February.

Though drunk driving is a felony, it is not considered a serious felony under the three strikes law.

Tuesday’s police chase, which was televised live by some local stations, began after police tried to stop Lattanzio for allegedly driving 65 m.p.h. on Platt Avenue near Sherman Way. He fled, at time driving on sidewalks, running red lights and rolling over some medians.

On Ventura Boulevard at De Soto Avenue, Lattanzio crashed into a Mercedes-Benz. He dropped his motorcycle and tried to flee on foot, but he was tackled by witnesses and held for police.