A LOOK AHEAD * The three strikes law has shaped the justice system in many ways. In one quirky case, L.A. County prosecutors find themselves rejecting the offer of . . . : A Defendant Plea Bargaining for a Longer Term

Not so many years ago, what Alex Delgado was willing to do would have been almost unheard of in a court of law.

Facing three counts of robbery from a series of crimes in January, Delgado turned down a Los Angeles prosecutor’s offer of three years in state prison and instead offered to serve twice as long behind bars.

The catch: Rather than pleading guilty to two of the robberies, Delgado would admit to only one to avoid facing the ultimate three-strikes punishment in the future.

With his offer rejected and Delgado, 21, facing a trial next month, the question is this:

If Delgado is convicted, would society be safer with him put away for six years, or should he be put back on the streets in half that time with the prospect that his drug use or some other offense could return him to prison for life?

In a case that illustrates just how enigmatic California’s three-strikes law can be, the case of the People vs. Delgado is a jarring reminder that often the law moves beyond simple crime and punishment and into the realm of a morality play.

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For although a defendant’s criminal past and future have long been factors in plea bargains, never have their consequences been more significant than under the three-strikes law.

“They are setting him up for a fall,” Delgado’s lawyer, deputy public defender Alec Henderson, said of the district attorney’s refusal to send Delgado to prison for six years.

“Rather than take the opportunity to sequester [Delgado] for a substantial period of time, they are saying, ‘We will let him back out early so we can put him away for the rest of his life if he commits another crime,’ ” Henderson said.

But, the district attorney’s office asks, what is wrong with that?

“The three-strikes law was designed to incarcerate habitual offenders as long as possible,” said district attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons.

Prosecutor Tom Gray declined to comment, but Gibbons said his plea bargain offer gave Delgado a chance to reform and serve the sort of short prison term that would be appropriate, given the defendant’s lack of a serious criminal history.

“We feel that three years is a fair term for a first offense,” Gibbons said.

And, she said Delgado would then have the added incentive to avoid trouble because of the possibility that a third-strike conviction could mean a sentence of 25 years to life.

“All we want is for the defendant’s record to reflect that he committed more than one crime. As far as whether he offends or not in the future, that is up to him,” Gibbons said. “But this [case] is not unusual.”

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But one longtime Los Angeles defense lawyer, himself a former deputy district attorney, saw the circumstances as anything but routine.

“It’s very strange,” said defense attorney Harland Braun. “People that would commit this type of crime are short-run hedonists. So it’s very unusual to see someone take a longer sentence in order to protect themselves in the future.

“Believe me,” Braun said, “people will do almost anything to shorten a sentence.”

Beyond the unusual nature of Delgado’s offer, his attorney said, is the question of how the district attorney’s position squares with the reality of the three-strikes law.

For one thing, Henderson said, studies show that a large number of those serving the maximum term under the law are doing so for offenses--like drug possession--that are not violent and often not even serious.

Indeed, he noted, a petty theft can be elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony for ex-felons. And for third-strike defendants, it can mean a life term for someone who, without felony convictions, might be sentenced to a brief time in county jail.

Moreover, Henderson said, demographics and Delgado’s age indicate that he could again face a brush with the law.

“He is an indigent defendant. He is a young Hispanic man living in Los Angeles,” Henderson said. If Delgado goes to prison, Henderson said, his ex-con status after his release would “constitute another liability.”

Although he acknowledges the seriousness of the charges against Delgado, Henderson said the acts surrounding the case suggest that his client is at a crossroads in his life and “still redeemable.”

Court records, including transcripts of Delgado’s preliminary hearing, show that in the three robberies he is accused of committing, the suspect threatened three women with harm before making off with their purses as they walked in a neighborhood south of downtown Los Angeles.

“And what did the man do, if anything, once he approached you?” one victim was asked.

“Well, he said that I should hand him over my bag or he was going to stab me,” she said, echoing the basic account of two other women who identified Delgado as the man who robbed them.

Court records also show that after each of those robberies, in which Delgado allegedly used a butter knife as a weapon, the victims’ handbags or wallets--with personal belongings but no cash--were mailed back to them or, in one case, left as promised at the corner where one theft took place.

Nevertheless, the prosecutors point out that unlike some cases in which a defendant faces multiple strikes arising from one incident with several victims, Delgado’s alleged crime was not one rash act but a series of crimes.

“Basically, these are three separate incidents on three separate dates involving three separate victims--all women. And a knife was used in all the incidents,” Gibbons said. “And each time the victim was terrified.”

So, Gibbons added: “The prosecutor feels that it is appropriate [for the defendant] to plead to two strikes and . . . if he gets out of prison, he would be facing 25 years to life if he gets in trouble again.

“This is what the three-strikes law was designed for,” she said.

Henderson disagrees.

“This kid’s problem is drugs. He knows that. And he has an amazing ability to see the writing on the wall . . . that a six-year term in prison is better for him in the long run,” Henderson said.

Under the three-strikes provision, Henderson noted, a second felony conviction for Delgado would automatically mean a doubling of his sentence.

“He’s saying, ‘Look, I will plead to one robbery count. I will take six years. And when I get out, I will face double time if I am convicted of any new felony at all,’ ” Henderson said.

Added Henderson: “He is offering to exchange three years of his life for a system that will still hold him accountable.”