Ito’s Stepson Held in Grand Theft Case : Crime: Dennis Mandley York is accused of stealing construction materials on several occasions and operating as a building contractor without a license.

The stepson of Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito was arrested early Tuesday morning in San Diego County on a grand theft charge, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office reported.

Dennis Mandley York, 35, of Garfield, N.J., was taken into custody by a special federal fugitive task force at about 9 a.m. on a felony charge of grand theft and several alleging misdemeanors, including working as a building contractor without a license, said Ted Goldstein, a spokesman for the city attorney.

York, who installs and removes underground storage tanks, is the son of Los Angeles Police Capt. Peggy York, who is married to Ito, the judge in the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

Records indicate that in May, 1993, in Tujunga, and October of the same year in Los Angeles, York worked as a contractor without the required state license, Goldstein said. A bench warrant was issued for York after he failed to appear at a Los Angeles arraignment last Tuesday on two counts of operating without a license and two counts of grand theft. Bail was set at $20,000 then.

Goldstein said York allegedly stole construction materials on several occasions, including taking close to $30,000 worth of materials from a Solano Beach work site last year and possibly taking more than $25,000 from two San Fernando Valley contractors.

Officials in San Diego and Los Angeles were trying to decide whether York would be sent to face charges in Los Angeles first or held in San Diego to face similar charges there. There was also the possibility of sending him back to San Mateo County where he also faces similiar felony theft counts, Goldstein said.

Goldstein said York was applying for a construction job in San Diego when he was recognized from a TV news report by the president of a local construction company.