Man Sentenced to 2 Years for Vigilante Escapades

Until last June, a crusader roamed the streets of East Los Angeles.

Dressed as a Los Angeles police officer, he would stop men he apparently believed were Latino gang members, sometimes at gunpoint. At times, as authorities tell it, he would drive them into rival gang turf, where he would drop them off and speed away.

He was a one-man vigilante squad, the self-appointed duke of crime suppression. On the streets he came to be known by his very own moniker: “John Wayne.”

In court Monday, he went by Eric Lee Purvis. And he was sent to state prison for two years for impersonating a police officer, kidnapping and false imprisonment in connection with the purported vigilantism and a separate case in Burbank stemming from the alleged stalking of one of the actors on NBC-TV’s teenage sitcom “Saved by the Bell.”

Pasty and plump, shackled at the waist, sporting thermal underwear and jail blues, the 26-year-old Purvis--who used to be a firefighter for the city of Vernon and a “technical reserve” Los Angeles police officer--maintained that he was innocent.

“These incidents plainly did not happen,” he said.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge J.D. Smith--a former LAPD officer--shook his head. In addition to two years behind bars, the judge sentenced Purvis to a suspended 28-month prison term and imposed five years’ probation--with the explicit condition that Purvis undergo psychological counseling.

“I don’t know what caused the defendant to have this [Charles] Bronson philosophy of solving crime,” Smith said from the bench. “Maybe frustration.”

Smith added: “I don’t know what’s lacking. I’m not an expert. But something went wrong when you have this philosophy that you should be out there taking care of business alone.”

The court hearing wrapped up one of the most unusual cases to come through the Criminal Courts Building. Left unanswered, however, was a central question: What could possibly motivate anyone to engage in such behavior?

“I sure don’t know,” said Dean Richens, 33, an engineer for eight years with the Vernon Fire Department. “He is a very normal guy.”

Court records and comments Monday in court portrayed Purvis as an up-and-coming young man committed to community service.

Purvis, a graduate of Montebello High School and Rio Hondo Community College, had been working full-time for the Vernon Fire Department since he was 19, said his attorney, Dominick Rubalcava.

Over the years, Rubalcava said in court, Purvis earned a reputation as a “hard-working young man who has done nothing but good for a lot of people.” Job assessments portrayed Purvis as a dependable self-starter; one boss said Purvis “can work for me any time.”

In 1989, according to court records, Purvis became an LAPD technical reserve officer. Department officials said Monday that meant he had been through training and could work inside a police station but was not authorized to carry a gun, conduct investigations or use a police car.

Last March, according to Burbank police, someone wearing an LAPD uniform--complete with a loaded pistol--visited the home of actor Richard Lee Jackson and tried to question him about an assault that supposedly took place the previous night in Hollywood.

Purvis was arrested and told Burbank police at the time that he was there to “play a joke” on the actor.

A few days later, Purvis was released on bail. He then resigned from the LAPD, a spokesman said.

The Burbank arrest, meanwhile, led investigators to suspect that Purvis was the bogus cop known as “John Wayne” to youths in Pico Gardens and other housing projects near downtown Los Angeles.

Between August 1995 and May 1996, according to court records, the fake officer--sporting LAPD gear including a utility belt, handgun, handcuffs, flashlight and ammunition magazines--would allegedly stop gang members on the streets, search them, detain them and drop them off at different locations.

Some of the victims, according to a probation report, would be hit with a flashlight or slammed against a car.

In May, according to the probation report, the bogus officer pointed a gun at two brothers. He told one, “Next time you run from me, I’ll kill you,” and the other, “If I see you out here again, I’ll take you to Hollywood because I can do it.”

Purvis was arrested again June 4. Bail was set at $2 million--$1 million for the new case and $1 million for the Burbank case.

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If convicted of the impersonation, assault, false imprisonment, robbery and kidnapping charges leveled in both the Burbank and Los Angeles cases, Purvis could have been sentenced to more than 60 years in prison, Deputy Dist. Atty. Randall Baron said Monday.

Last month, however, he entered no-contest pleas to three charges: one count of impersonating a police officer in the Burbank case and kidnapping and false imprisonment counts in the Los Angeles case.

In exchange, prosecutors agreed to recommend the two-year prison term--a deal that guaranteed state prison time.

Although a two-year term pales in comparison to a sentence of 60-plus years, Baron noted that a jury trial might have proved difficult for prosecutors because of Purvis’ background and because many of the witnesses against Purvis would have been questioned extensively about gang affiliation.

“The potential for innocent people being injured was the major focus for this prosecution,” Baron said Monday after court. “No one was shot. No one was killed. Yet. But if this had kept going, someone probably would have been.”

In court, Purvis blamed his predicament on his attorney. After asking for permission to read a statement, he began attacking Rubalcava as a “used car salesman with deep pockets.” The judge cut him off.

“I think . . . you probably need some help,” Smith said, adding a moment later, “I’m going to end it there and wish you good luck.”