MENTALLY ILL MAN PLEADS TO ASSAULT : ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGE CUT BY DA.Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer Bea and Robert Pedersen's prayers for their mentally ill son have been answered by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, which decided to drop charges that he attempted to murder a Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. officer a year ago today. Mark Pedersen pleaded guilty Monday to assault with a deadly weapon Assault with a Deadly Weapon is the term used to describe the act of threatening to harm one or more people by using a weapon (usually a firearm). Here, assault must be differentiated from battery as they are often confused. Assault is threatening to use force. on Officer Dave Raduziner, who answered a disturbance call at the Pedersen family home. Pedersen faces a maximum of five years in prison at a sentencing hearing Jan. 15. He could have faced a life sentence if convicted of attempted murder In the criminal law, attempted murder is committed when the defendant does an act that is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the crime of murder and, at the time of these acts, the person has a specific intention to kill. . ``I feel real happy about this decision. It's a relief to us,'' Bea Pedersen said. ``It just didn't feel right. In a way, I was hoping. You just have to have faith that everything will turn around.'' The couple's life was disrupted on Dec. 18, 1995, when Mark Pedersen was arrested after the violent confrontation at their Belgrave Court home, which sent both Raduziner and their son to the hospital with gunshot wounds. Pedersen was charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon on Raduziner, who responded with Officer John Hughes
Police officials and prosecutors have said Pedersen tried to stab Raduziner with a pocketknife when the officers knocked down Pedersen's bedroom door after hearing him moaning moan n. 1. a. A low, sustained, mournful cry, usually indicative of sorrow or pain. b. A similar sound: the eerie moan of the night wind. 2. Lamentation. v. . As Raduziner and Pedersen struggled in a cramped hallway, Hughes fired two shots from his handgun at close range. Bea and Robert Pedersen contend that their son was not a threat to anyone and the officers should have left him alone in their home. Pedersen's parents said he had not been taking a prescribed tranquilizer tranquilizer, drug whose action calms the central nervous system, decreasing emotional agitation without impairing alertness. Tranquilizing drugs differ from hypnotic drugs such as barbiturates in that they do not act on the brain's cortical areas but rather on its and two other drugs to counter side effects Side effects Effects of a proposed project on other parts of the firm. . The prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Don Glynn, did not return phone calls. Simi Valley Police Chief Randy Adams said the department, including the officers involved, agreed with the decision to drop the attempted murder charge and gain the guilty plea on the assault charge. ``We recognize that in this particular case, due to the history of mental illness of the defendant, that this was an acceptable plea,'' Adams said. Pedersen's defense attorney, Jenny Scovis, said she was pleased prosecutors accepted her plea agreement offer. ``There are no promises as far as sentencing. I'm hoping and praying and thinking probation,'' Scovis said. ``He has no criminal record. He was a very high achiever until the schizophrenia started acting up.'' Ventura Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell Charles Campbell can refer to several people:
On Tuesday, the judge ruled Pedersen could be released from the county jail so he can visit his family at their home on Christmas. Campbell, over the objections of prosecutors, said the Rev. George Luthringer from St. Francis of Assisi Church, where the Pedersens are parishioner, would supervise the visit and ensure Pedersen took his medication. Bea Pedersen said the family plans to attend a Christmas Eve A Christmas Eve is a short story by Camillo Boito which appeared in his anthology of decadence and perversity titled Tales of Vanity (sometimes translated as Vain Tales), which also featured his more famous work, Senso. church service and then enjoy a day at home with their two sons and family. ``We're real excited about it,'' she said. At sentencing, Scovis said she will propose that Pedersen be granted probation and released to the custody of Luthringer. Scovis said he has offered to become Pedersen's legal conservator conservator n. a guardian and protector appointed by a judge to protect and manage the financial affairs and/or the person's daily life due to physical or mental limitations or old age. and ensure that Pedersen remains on medication and completes any court-ordered counseling. ``This (Christmas) should be like a trial run to see how he does,'' Scovis said. |
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