Montgomery to Use Public Defender

Unable to pay for his own attorney, former Moorpark City Councilman Scott Montgomery will be represented by a lawyer from the public defender’s office in his sentencing hearing for felony and misdemeanor conflict of interest charges.

On Friday, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Vincent O’Neill said he would give Montgomery’s court-appointed attorney two weeks to review the case before setting the date for sentencing.

Prosecutor Mark Aveis agreed to the delay in sentencing, but said he would like the matter resolved as soon as possible. Aveis said he hoped that the matter would be concluded by the end of March.

Montgomery’s sentencing has been delayed since early January because he has been unable to find an attorney.

The former councilman has been represented by two attorneys since he pleaded guilty in October.

Montgomery was originally represented by attorney Dan Schmidt, who advised him during a grand jury inquiry into Montgomery’s financial links to a trash company executive who did business in Moorpark.

A month after pleading guilty to the charges and resigning from the council, Montgomery said he had been bullied by prosecutors into the plea and wanted it withdrawn. Schmidt took himself off the case because, he said, he had become a witness to the bullying. Criminal defense attorney George Eskin was then hired.

After a judge denied Montgomery’s motion to withdraw his plea in early January, Eskin dropped out of the case. Since then Montgomery has been trying to get a new attorney.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for March 8 in Judge Charles Campbell’s courtroom. Campbell will probably set a new date for sentencing at that time.