ATTORNEY RESIGNS FROM SWINDLE CASE INVESTIGATOR'S ARREST PROMPTS MOVE.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - A Lancaster attorney removed himself from a swindling case after his investigator was arrested on suspicion of trying to sway the victim, an 88-year-old man.

Lancaster Superior Court Judge Howard Swart granted attorney David Wallin's request to be taken off the case and also ruled that Wallin would not be reported to the State Bar of California.

``There will be no referral to the State Bar at this time,'' said Deputy District Attorney Daviann Mitchell. ``The judge said while he was concerned, he did not feel the conduct rose to the level of a mandatory State Bar referral.''

The investigator, 37-year-old Tracy Hall of Valencia, is charged with dissuading a witness, a charge that both she and Wallin have denied.

Wallin represented Janice Baldridge, 51, of Palmdale, who has pleaded not guilty to charges that she swindled more than $300,000 from her neighbor, Goerge Pruitt, by saying she was going to leave her husband for him.

Wallin said he asked to be relieved because in the future there might be some appearance of impropriety.

``Even though the judge confirmed we had acted ethically and there was nothing sanctionable or actionable and that we acted in the best interest of our client, we felt in an abundance of caution to let Miss Baldridge find another attorney so there would be no question at all, ever,'' Wallin said.

Hall's request to be released on a written promise to appear in court was denied Wednesday, but her bail was reduced from $100,000 to $25,000, officials said. Hall posted bond and was released from jail early Thursday, records show.

Baldridge was released on her written promise to appear in court after her bail had originally been set at $300,000, Mitchell said. Prosecutors did not oppose the release.

``We did not feel she was a threat or a flight risk,'' Mitchell said.

Detectives have declined to discuss what Hall exactly is accused of doing, but said she told workers at the Ridgecrest board-and-care home where Pruitt is living that she was a friend and former neighbor so they would let her speak with him.

Wallin said earlier that Hall may have identified herself as Baldridge's friend and failed to state she was an investigator. Any statements gathered in that manner would not be used by his firm, Wallin had said.

Baldridge is accused of swindling Pruitt out of $319,000 by pretending she was going to leave her husband for him, authorities said. A former neighbor of Baldridge, Pruitt ended up living in a board-and-care home after losing his life savings, officials said.

Investigators say Baldridge befriended Pruitt in 1996 after meeting at a neighborhood mailbox. After flirting with him, she began telling him that she was having problems with her marriage and within months said she wanted to marry him, officials said.

She then began asking for loans, first to complete her master's degree, then for smaller things, officials said.

In early 2000, Pruitt loaned her $250,000 after she told him she needed to take care of her sick brother in Indiana, officials said.

While Baldridge was supposedly in Indiana, she continued requesting money from Pruitt, telling him he could leave checks under her doormat and she would have a friend come by and deposit the money into her bank account, officials said. He dropped off checks almost daily, officials said.

She then asked for more money, telling him she needed to get back from Indiana so they could be married. By that time, Pruitt was out of money and went to his son to ask for a loan. His son, after hearing the whole story, brought the matter to the attention of sheriff's detectives.

Officials learned during their investigation that Baldridge never left Palmdale. She stayed with her husband; paid off their home; bought jewelry, guns, a spa and television sets; and paid off their car and bought a new one, among other things, officials said.