South Bay : Inmate Attacks Accused Killer of Model

Minutes before a court hearing Friday, a county jail inmate punched and injured a free-lance photographer accused of murdering Hermosa Beach model Linda Sobek.

Charles E. Rathbun, 37, wore an adhesive bandage across his chin as he entered a Torrance courtroom, where Judge Benjamin Aranda set Feb. 26 as the date for a preliminary hearing on charges that Rathbun raped and killed the 27-year-old former Raiders cheerleader.

Rathbun’s attorney, Mark Werksman, said his client suffered a deep gash in the incident, and sheriff’s deputies confirmed that Rathbun had been taken to the medical ward at Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles for treatment.

The scuffle occurred, Werksman said, as Rathbun was leaving a holding cell he had occupied alone and deputies were ushering another inmate, Michael Davis, inside. As the men passed, the attorney said, Davis swung at Rathbun with a ring-clad fist.

According to Werksman, Davis told Rathbun, “You’re lucky I can’t get to you in here.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve Kay, who is prosecuting the case, theorized that Rathbun was targeted for assault because he is accused of raping and murdering a woman. “People charged with sex crimes are not liked by other prisoners,” Kay said after the proceeding.

Werksman, on the other hand, attributed the attack more to a “fever pitch of hatred” for Rathbun generated by his portrayal in the media as a possible serial killer.

Werksman said he planned to request tighter security for his client.