Jury Deadlocks on Convicting Councilman
From Times Staff Reports
A Superior Court jury deadlocked on whether to convict Baldwin Park Councilman William Van Cleave on charges of false imprisonment and unlawful use of a badge.
The jurors voted 11 to 1 in favor of conviction.
According to prosecutors, Van Cleave got into a dispute with a customer at his hardware store and then flashed a city badge and pushed the woman toward a car. He allegedly told her: “I’m the police around here.”
Van Cleave was ordered to return to court Oct. 7.
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