OFFICIALS REVIEW ATTACK IN COURT.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

SAN FERNANDO - A defendant in a murder trial who is accused of slashing his attorney's arm last week hid the razor blade in a courthouse lockup room before deputies searched him, officials said Tuesday.

Erick Isaac Morales, 24, suspected of being an ``enforcer'' for the notorious Mara Salvatrucha gang, told investigators he smuggled the blade out of Men's Central Jail by putting it in his pocket on the bus ride to the San Fernando courthouse, sheriff's Court Services Division Chief Richard Martinez said.

``Once we left him alone at the courthouse, he was able to reach into his pocket, pull out the razor and secrete it into some location (in the lockup room),'' Martinez said. ``I don't want to go any further (into details) because of security issues.''

The oral report was given to the Board of Supervisors, which requested an explanation of the apparent breakdown in security March 14.

Court officials had taken special precautions - assigning an extra bailiff - with Morales because he had twice pushed his chair back and stood up during the double-murder jury trial, Martinez said.

Before his lawyer was attacked, deputies searched Morales in the lockup room where prisoners are held before and after they appear in court. Deputies checked inside his mouth and under his tongue for any possible weapons but found none, Martinez said.

In the courtroom, however, authorities said Morales spit out the blade, lunged at Linda Wieder, a deputy alternate public defender, and slashed her upper arm. She was hospitalized and received five stitches.

Retired Superior Court Judge Cecil Mills, who is in charge of court security, said it was an isolated incident, and that almost all weapons people attempt to smuggle into courthouses are detected.

Nearly 35 million people went through court metal detectors from November 2003 to October 2004, and security personnel stopped 284,000 items from being carried into court buildings, including razors, knives, scissors and stun guns, Mills said.

``We did prevent 72,672 knives from coming into our courtrooms,'' Mills said. ``We did have five daggers removed in that time and four real guns, three of which were in briefcases of attorneys.''

Inmates, however, do not come into court through the public entrances with metal detectors. To tighten security, Martinez said, officials will purchase handheld metal detectors to use on inmates and will conduct more physical checks of court lockup rooms.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who requested the report, asked the officials to brief the supervisors in closed session on the details of where Morales hid the razor.

Troy Anderson, [phone]

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com