King Gets 90 Days in Jail for Hit-Run, but Plans to Appeal

Rodney G. King, after several run-ins with the law in the last five years, may now be going to jail.

The man notorious for his vehicular escapades was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days in Los Angeles County Jail and two years’ summary probation by an Alhambra Municipal Court judge.

In an uncharacteristic move, King said he wants to come back to court--but this time to appeal his conviction.

“It’s not over yet,” King said.

A jury last month acquitted King of spousal abuse, assault with a deadly weapon and reckless driving charges in connection with a July 1995 hit-and-run incident involving his estranged wife, Crystal. But the same jury found King guilty of the hit-and-run charge.

The misdemeanor conviction carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $5,000 fine, a sentence prosecuting Deputy Dist. Atty. Donna Wills sought.

“I am pleased that the court found the defendant deserving of some punishment,” Wills said of the judge’s decision.

King winced and his private investigator, David Lynn, shook his head when the sentence was read. But after conferring with King’s attorney, Edi M.O. Faal, in a closed meeting at the courthouse, both appeared more optimistic.

Before the sentence was read, Faal had asked for a new trial, saying the jury was not given an instruction that might have prevented the guilty verdict. Judge Michael A. Kanner dismissed the request, but Faal told the court he plans to appeal.

Though Faal suggested that a $1,000 fine with no jail time would be sufficient punishment, the defense attorney said the judge’s sentencing decision was fair.

Not only could the conviction be reversed on appeal, but the penalty will be put on hold until the appeals process is completed, which is likely to take another year, Faal said. Regardless, in the overcrowded Los Angeles County jail system, 90 days does not necessarily mean 90 days. Convicts typically serve less than 25% of their sentences before the Sheriff’s Department sends them back on the streets.

“We don’t know if he’ll ever go to jail,” Faal said.

Sgt. Ron Spear of the Sheriff’s Department said that if King does do time, it will probably amount to about 18 days, the average for a person with King’s sentence.

Thrust into the spotlight after his 1991 beating by police officers, King in an interview said that what worries him most about the prospect of spending any time behind bars is “how people [will] perceive me . . . in jail.” He did not elaborate.

Spear said that for their own safety, famous inmates are housed separately and are ineligible for work release programs. Sequestered quarters may offer some peace of mind to the defendant whose notoriety dogged him throughout the case.

During the trial the defense argued that Crystal King caused herself to fall off her utility vehicle by jumping onto the floor step of the car to harass her husband. But “because of who he is,” King was charged, Lynn said.

“It is clear that Mr. King was assaulted by his wife,” Faal said. “Yet he was prosecuted and she was not.”

But Judge Kanner said in open court that the evidence did not support the defense’s claim.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Police Log

Since his March 3, 1991, beating by Los Angeles police, Rodney G. King has had nine encounters with law enforcement. Most have not resulted in criminal charges.

* May 11, 1991: Pulled over by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in Santa Fe Springs for illegally tinted windows. His car registration was expired and he was not carrying a driver’s license, deputies said.

* Disposition: Not cited.

* May 28, 1991: Arrested in Hollywood after LAPD officers said he tried to run over an undercover vice officer who caught him with a transvestite prostitute. King told authorities he thought the officer was a robber.

* Disposition: No charges filed.

* June 26, 1992: Arrested at his Studio City apartment after his wife said he had injured her in a fight. She declined to file a complaint.

* Disposition: No charges.

* July 16, 1992: Arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Orange. His lawyer says stress from the beating may be causing King to drink excessively. Later, the lawyer says King was targeted because of his race.

* Disposition: No charges.

* Aug. 21, 1993: Crashed into a block wall in downtown Los Angeles. Breath test revealed blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit for driving.

* Disposition: Voluntarily entered 60-day alcohol rehabilitation program as part of his parole in his earlier robbery conviction. Later convicted of driving under the influence, fined $1,438, ordered to perform 20 days of community service, enrolled in an alcohol education program and placed on three years’ probation.

* May 21, 1995: Drove off the road in Union Township, Penn. A patrolman allegedly smelled alcohol on King’s breath, but the suspect declined a blood-alcohol test.

* Disposition: Acquitted of drunk driving charge March 29, 1996, in Pennsylvania when a relative said he, not King, drove the car off the road.

* July 14, 1995: Arrested by Alhambra police on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence after allegedly knocking his wife to the ground with his car.

* Disposition: Acquitted of spousal abuse charges but found guilty of hit-and-run in Alhambra Municipal Court on July 11, 1996. Sentenced to 90 days in Los Angeles County Jail and two years’ probation Aug. 21, 1996.

* July 21, 1995: Stopped and questioned on suspicion of purse-snatching when a witness said he saw King running from a crowd in downtown Glendale, carrying a woman’s purse. King told officers that he was not running and that the purse belonged to him.

* Disposition: Police determined that no crime had occurred.

* July 29, 1996: Pulled over by CHP officers on Interstate 15.

* Disposition: Cited for an undisclosed traffic infraction and released.