Without Warning, the British Press Has Come

The British press invaded the Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana on Tuesday, and those in its way didn’t know what hit them.

More than 20 reporters and photographers from various Fleet Street papers charged down the narrow hallways and escalators of the courthouse, chasing a defense attorney and an alleged crime victim and his mother out of the building.

“Move! Move! Move!” members of the press pack yelled as they breathlessly pushed past bystanders.

Even in Southern California’s overheated media climate, the British press’ pursuit of the case of Alastair Irvine--a 25-year-old stalking suspect whose father is England’s top law enforcement officer--has been stunning.

The London Daily Mail triggered the invasion last week when it broke the story: Irvine had been charged with stalking the boyfriend of a tanning salon employee whom he was courting, as well as vandalizing the man’s car. He was being held in Orange County Jail, facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

In response, competing British newspapers began scouring Orange County, feeding England’s seemingly insatiable appetite for any news on “The Sins of the Son.” Some papers have even offered payments of up to $25,000 for a good scoop--especially for an interview with the man Irvine was allegedly stalking, Karel Taska, 19.

“When the British press gets going, [it] can be like the running of the bulls of Pamplona,” Peter Sheridan, a stringer for the Mail, said Sunday as he stood watch at the courthouse. “The level of competition is ferocious.”

Taska’s mother, Kathy, called police over the weekend after a group of journalists camped out in front of her Placentia home and even followed her son around in a car.

“It was really scary,” Kathy Taska said.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” added Tori Richards, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s office. “This is America, and we don’t have a society where news reporters chase down victims in their cars. The [family] is fearful of even going out of their house or going to work.”

Media experts said the Irvine case coverage underscores the hard-charging nature of the British tabloid press.

“In America, the tabloids are sort of a minor sideline. In England, they are enormously important and well entrenched,” said Bryce Nelson, a professor at USC’s Annenberg School of Journalism. “It’s a much more aggressive kind of news culture, and the fact that it’s the son of a [top government official] would just increase the thrill.”

Authorities on Tuesday became so exasperated by the spectacle that Richards held a press conference in which she admonished the British press corps.

“We don’t want to ruin our chances of a clean trial,” she told the gathering of reporters. “Please respect our concerns.”

But the media circus shows few signs of letting up. Irvine’s arrest has been front page news in London for a week now, with headlines like “Irvine Victim: I Fear I’ll Be Killed” and “Irvine, the Dark Star Who Failed to Shine.”

A reporter for the Mail on Sunday began a weekend feature on the case this way: “I was given an exclusive tour of the teeming human zoo that is Orange County Jail, the temporary home of Alastair Irvine and one of the most notorious prisons in America. It was, frankly, chilling. There are 5,000 convicts squeezed into this modern vision of Bedlam.”

Irvine’s father is Lord Chancellor Derry Irvine, who administers the British court system and advises on the appointment of judges. He’s one of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s oldest and most trusted advisors.

The son, a bodybuilder and athlete, met Nicole Healy, 19, in early June while getting a tan at the Newport Beach salon where she worked. Several British newspapers reported that Irvine was in Orange County after completing a stint at a drug rehab center in San Diego for cocaine addiction.

Authorities said Irvine asked Healy about starting a romantic relationship. She turned him down, telling Irvine she had a boyfriend, according to police reports.

Irvine continued bringing flowers to the shop. On June 6, he allegedly poured an unidentified substance on the boyfriend’s truck, causing $5,700 in damage, Richards said. A few days later, Irvine allegedly went to the woman’s workplace with a gun in his belt, threatening the life of Healy’s boyfriend, Taska.

The couple called Costa Mesa police. Detectives searched Irvine’s Newport Beach apartment and found two unlicensed handguns and some type of caustic chemical, authorities said. He was charged in late June with stalking, making a criminal threat, vandalism and carrying a concealed weapon.

Irvine was supposed to be arraigned Tuesday, but the hearing was postponed so his attorney, Edward Moses, could have more time to review the case.

Moses tried to slip out of court, but reporters spotted him, beginning a brief chase through the courthouse.

Moses eventually jumped into a private office in the courthouse. The press entourage tried to find an exit from the office but gave up in frustration a few minutes later.

Prosecutors said they’ve been bombarded with hundreds of calls from the British media over the last week. Richards said that a few reporters said they were miffed that Irvine didn’t face more serious charges.

The case has touched a chord in England not just because Irvine is the son of the country’s top lawman, but because the government is debating whether to decriminalize marijuana. Some conservative newspapers have cited Irvine’s addiction as a reason not to liberalize drug laws.

The coverage has been decidedly unsympathetic to Irvine. Healy has granted interviews to several newspapers, who quoted the “California cheerleader” as saying she’s living in fear.

“I have never been so frightened. My life is shattered,” the Mail on Sunday quoted her as saying. (She could not be reached for comment.)

Anonymous police sources have described Irvine as a “very bad boy” who is “going down.” The Observer News quoted one police official as saying: “We know who his daddy is, and we don’t give a damn.”

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Times staff writer David Haldane contributed to this report.