The husband of Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey has asked a judge to dismiss the criminal case against him on charges of waving a gun at Black Lives Matter protesters on his porch, arguing that the state’s attorney general exceeded his legal authority by filing misdemeanor charges.
In a motion submitted to the court this week, the attorney for David Lacey stated that once Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra decided that felony charges were not warranted for the March incident at the Laceys’ Granada Hills residence, the state’s top prosecutor should have transferred the case to L.A. City Atty. Mike Feuer, whose office handles misdemeanor crimes in city boundaries.
“David and I both believe that the Attorney General does not have jurisdiction under the law to prosecute this crime,” defense attorney Samuel Tyre said outside a San Fernando courthouse on Thursday. “It is our belief that the California Constitution, Supreme Court law, government code law and the Los Angeles city charter all support that the rightful prosecutor to this case is the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.”
David Lacey was scheduled to appear in court Thursday for his arraignment on three misdemeanor counts of assault with a firearm stemming from his March 2 confrontation with BLM protesters. Neither Lacey nor his wife was present in court, and his attorney delayed arraignment until Sept. 10. That day, Judge Patricia Hunter is expected to hear arguments on whether the attorney general’s office can proceed with the charges.
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