Activist’s Husband Cited in Phone Call

Police have cited the husband of a prominent local activist for allegedly making an annoying phone call to a political adversary.

At the request of police, Merle Duckett, the 56-year-old husband of city activist Suzanne Duckett, appeared at the east valley office of the Sheriff’s Department on Friday and received a citation for the misdemeanor violation.

The case is expected to go to the district attorney’s office today, where investigators will decide whether to press charges. If charges are filed, Merle Duckett would be arraigned June 11 and could face a maximum fine of $500 and up to six months in jail.

Citing someone for a single annoying phone call is a rarity, but the target of the call--KMLT-FM (92.7) radio General Manager Rick Lemmo--insisted, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Margaret O’Donnell.

The call “may or may not fit the legal criteria” for prosecution, she said.

Reached at work, Merle Duckett declined to comment.

Lemmo said the call was recorded on his voicemail at the radio station a day after he had praised outgoing City Manager Grant Brimhall at the veteran bureaucrat’s last City Council meeting.

Because the radio station was receiving other, unrelated, nuisance calls, the phone lines were being traced. One call--criticizing Lemmo and his politics--reportedly was tracked to Merle Duckett’s Pacific Palisades graphic design firm, Lemmo said.

Police said they have a tape of the call, but would not comment on its content.

Lemmo said the caller berated his physical appearance and upbraided him for supporting “Mormon thugs.” He interpreted this as a reference to Brimhall, who is highly placed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Ducketts and Lemmo were on opposite sides of last fall’s acrimonious attempt to recall Councilwoman Elois Zeanah. The couple supported Zeanah, while Lemmo advocated her ouster.

Suzanne Duckett often appears before the City Council, where she brings props--including a crystal ball, combat fatigues and a straw hat covered with plastic fruit--to illustrate her points about development and open space.