REPORT ALTERED, INVESTIGATOR SAYS LIEUTENANT'S DAUGHTER FACES CHARGES.

Byline: CAROL ROCK Staff Writer

SAN FERNANDO -- A probation report on a police lieutenant's daughter charged in the drunken driving deaths of two people was revised to remove derogatory information and to paint her as a model citizen, a CHP investigator said.

CHP Officer Dave Pokorney, who interviewed 19-year-old Chelsea Arcos of Saugus after her arrest, said in an interview Thursday that he had received a phone call Aug. 30 from Probation Officer Dean DeRuise alerting him to the revisions.

``He told me he was ordered by his superiors to prepare a favorable report that recommended Arcos' release on her own recognizance,'' Pokorney said.

``He had written two reports that were kicked back, and he was upset because it had never happened before. He was told by two of his directors to change it, and he was afraid of retaliation if he blew the whistle. He didn't know what to do,'' Pokorney said.

Robert B. Taylor, chief Los Angeles County probation officer, did not return calls and an e-mail seeking comment. Messages left for DeRuise were not returned.

Arcos is charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene of an accident, driving without a license and drunken driving causing great bodily injury or death.

She has pleaded not guilty.

Arcos, the daughter of Los Angeles police Lt. Robert Arcos, was released from jail Thursday after posting $250,000 bail.

Arcos' attorney, Richard A. Hutton, said Friday that he is aware of the report in question, but said his client was not involved in any changes.

``I am aware of the allegations, but they are completely false. Everyone would be well-advised to conduct an investigation before making false statements,'' Hutton said. ``Obviously, my client has been in custody and I can tell you that none of her family members have done anything to contact probation.''

Cmdr. Jim Voge of the LAPD Internal Affairs Division said his department investigated after hearing that the report had been altered, and found nothing to back it up.

``We immediately sent a team to investigate and have not been able to substantiate any part of the rumor,'' Voge said. ``There are a few loose ends to tie up, but we have found no impropriety.''

Pokorney said he was not interviewed by the LAPD.

``How could they have investigated without talking to me?'' Pokorney said Friday. ``I'm the one that told the (deputy) district attorney.''

Pokorney said he contacted Deputy District Attorney Lou Holtz Jr., who is prosecuting Arcos. Holtz said he called DeRuise, who confirmed that he had been told to revise the report favorably.

Neither Pokorney nor Holtz would offer any reasons why the report might have been changed. Pokorney was not asked to change his own report.

District Attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison said that that office would not investigate unless a case is brought to its Justice System Integrity Division. To date, no case has been presented.

The probation report was to have been presented Thursday at a hearing in San Fernando Superior Court to set a date for Arcos' preliminary hearing, which will determine whether her case goes to trial. It was not presented.

Arcos' brief appearance ended after Hutton asked for a sample of her blood drawn in the Aug.7 incident to allow a defense expert to reassess the blood-alcohol reading. Hutton also asked that the case be continued to Nov. 1.

Judge Cynthia Ulfig granted both requests.

According to CHP reports, about 1:45 a.m. Aug. 7, Arcos was driving a Toyota Tacoma truck that hit John Tun, 27, of Long Beach and Thoung Pok, 35, of Fresno as they were changing a tire on the southbound Golden State Freeway near Magic Mountain Parkway.

Both died at the scene.

Officials say Arcos continued driving, stopping near Valencia Boulevard. She was arrested shortly thereafter, and her blood-alcohol measured in excess of 0.08, the limit at which a driver is considered drunk. Officials refused to say exactly what her blood-alcohol measured.

In the courtroom, the family of victim Tun wore T-shirts emblazoned with his photo.

``We're angry,'' said Tun family friend Noy Panithpol. ``It's like a roller coaster of emotions. The family did not deserve this. They only get by day to day. There are seven children who don't have a parent because of her.''

Tun had two children, daughter Christine, 8, and son Jason, 10. Pok was the mother of five children, ranging in age from 4 to 15. Tun's children and two of Pok's children were in the car along with Tun's wife when the incident occurred.

Tun's wife, Rumchoul Ok, said her 8-year-old daughter is taking her father's death extremely hard.

``She says there's no one here to protect us anymore,'' she said tearfully.

``Jason doesn't say much; he keeps it inside. But they remember seeing everything, and we talk about him.''

Tun's sister, Tisha, said the children have been treated by a therapist for the trauma of seeing their father lying dead in the street.

Tun was the sole support of his family, working two jobs to make ends meet. Early in the morning, he delivered the Long Beach Press-Telegram before going to his regular job as a railroad maintenance worker.

``We pray about him,'' Ok said, adding that the family will be in court every time Arcos makes an appearance. ``We believe there is God justice.''

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

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