2 Current Bruins Request Continuance

The two current Bruins who had said repeatedly that they just want to put the embarrassing handicapped-parking case behind them asked for and received another continuance through their attorney Wednesday during a second scheduled arraignment in Municipal Court.

Fullback Durell Price and offensive lineman James Ghezzi, in contrast to earlier statements that they planned to accept the same plea bargain as nine others previously have, now have a third arraignment scheduled, this time Sept. 14. The same goes for three former teammates who also got second deferments: Craig Walendy, DuVal Hicks and Mark Reynosa.

By again delaying a plea, it means the misdemeanor case could go from July 8, the day charges were filed against 14 current and former Bruins, into the week of the third game of the season. The decision frustrated Coach Bob Toledo, who days earlier talked about how it was “outside forces” and not people within the team who are keeping the case alive, and surprised the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office.

If that’s the only reaction to come from the prosecutors, the five players may be lucky--Brian Williams, the deputy city attorney who is handling the case, raised the possibility that he could withdraw the current deal and go for a harsher sentence.

“The deal is the deal,” Williams said of the plea bargain of two years probation, 200 hours of community service and a $1,485 fine that the nine others accepted July 28. “One of the benefits of deciding a case early is that you get it taken care of. I can’t completely guarantee this deal will be on the table in a month or two months down the line. We could get more evidence for our case.”

Said Toledo: “They’ve got to do what they’ve got to do. It’s going to end up being the same thing anyway. It’s just procrastination in my eyes.”

Ghezzi and Price both declined interview requests after UCLA’s late-afternoon scrimmage at the Rose Bowl, saying they wanted to first speak to their attorney before commenting.

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Starting safety Jason Stephens, originally expected to be back for the Sept. 4 opener against Boise State, is listed as questionable because of the sprained right knee he suffered in the scrimmage last Saturday. It’s especially bad news for a secondary that already will be without four key members because of suspension.

“He’s not coming along as well as I would have liked,” trainer Geoff Schaadt said of Stephens’ recovery.