Suspended Judge Arrested in Ojai, Later in Ventura

Robert C. Bradley, the Ventura County judge suspended after two drunk-driving convictions last winter, was arrested twice Saturday over incidents involving his estranged wife, officials said.

Bradley was first arrested early Saturday after allegedly getting drunk, entering Dorothea Bradley’s Ojai residence and refusing to leave. Drinking alcohol is a violation of Bradley’s probation on the drunk-driving convictions.

He was released on $5,000 bail Saturday afternoon. However, he was taken back into custody about 6 p.m. after allegedly repeatedly telephoning his wife from a Ventura halfway house--a violation of an emergency protective order that was issued for Dorthea Bradley after her husband’s first arrest.

As of 10 p.m. Saturday, Bradley remained in jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Detectives “decided this was a situation that may continue,” Sheriff’s Capt. Richard Diaz said of the high bail amount.

The arrests mark the lowest point yet for the 57-year-old Bradley, a former presiding judge of the Ventura County Superior Court.

Bradley, a former prosecutor who had become one of the most respected members of the local bench, first was picked up at 2:20 a.m. Saturday at his wife’s Ojai house, authorities said.

He could not be arrested on suspicion of illegal entry because he remains a co-owner of the Foothill Road home, according to a spokesman for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

The second arrest came less than five hours after Bradley posted bail, when he telephoned his wife from the “sober-living” house where he is staying, Ventura County Sheriff’s Capt. Ken Warren said.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested Bradley at the Ventura house.

Police refused to say who had notified authorities on the alleged violation.

Bradley’s legal troubles began Dec. 6, 1997, when he was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving near his Ojai home.

He was arrested again Jan. 3 on the same charges. In mid-January, court officials suspended Bradley from his job when he came to work apparently intoxicated.

Last month the state Commission on Judicial Performance also suspended Bradley pending a disciplinary hearing in late May or June. Bradley has been fighting to retain his job until his judicial term ends in December. He also has said he wants to serve in retirement as a temporary judge.

In his response to the commission, Bradley denied he had a chronic drinking problem. Through an attorney, he had said his recent bouts with alcohol stemmed from marital problems and should not obscure the value of his 15 years on the bench.

Friends and former colleagues were upset Saturday by news of Bradley’s latest troubles.

“I’m just devastated,” George Eskin, the Santa Barbara attorney who represented Bradley in the drunk-driving charges, said after the first arrest. “I’m devastated by his self-destructive conduct, and I believe that the vast majority of the legal community who held him in such high respect as a judge share my feelings of devastation.”

Eskin, who said he is retired and no longer represents Bradley, predicted a jail sentence for his friend and former client. Probation violation is a misdemeanor that carries a jail sentence as long as a year.

“I’d expect the court will send him back to jail,” Eskin said. “I don’t think he’s controlling himself.”

Bradley served 20 days in jail and was given an eight-year probation term after pleading guilty to two charges of drunk driving. Since his first arrest in December, he has participated in three live-in alcohol-treatment programs. Most recently, he was treated at a rehabilitation hospital in Port Hueneme and was to stay for up to six months in its sober-living house.

According to police, Bradley’s first arrest Saturday came after he pried open a window in his former residence, a rambling Tudor home in a tree-shaded Ojai neighborhood.

“He’d been drinking and said he was going to stay the night,” Warren said. “She said no and he refused to leave.”

Dorothea Bradley then called 911, officials said.

Authorities said deputies arrived and found the couple arguing. Dorothea Bradley, a court reporter, filed for divorce in February after the two had been separated for about a year. They have been married 17 years.

Warren would not say whether Bradley was combative during his arrest, saying only “he wasn’t happy.”

In a previous arrest, Bradley had acted belligerently, officials said.

Bradley was taken to Ventura County Jail, where he posted bond in the first case about 1:45 p.m. Saturday. He told jail personnel he did not want anyone to pick him up and probably left by taxi, Warren said.

Ventura police said Bradley had gone to a Ventura halfway house.

He was arrested there after police were notified that Bradley called his wife numerous times. Capt. Diaz said that when deputies arrested Bradley he again appeared to have been drinking.

Detectives will present the probation violation case to the district attorney’s office Monday. That office will also notify the state judicial commission, Warren said.

Meanwhile, things appeared tranquil around the Bradley home Saturday afternoon. Coming home with her three daughters from a trip to the grocery store, Dorothea Bradley--known to friends as Dody--declined comment on the incident.

Neighbors who asked not to be identified said they had not heard any commotion from the Bradley residence.

“He should probably stay away from Dody and the kids,” one woman said. “Heaven knows, he’s been in the headlines enough.”

Chawkins is a Times staff writer and Wolcott is a correspondent.