SMALL VOICES RESULT IN BIG JUSTICE IN COURTROOM.

Byline: Ron Fineman LOCAL VIEW

FROM all that I hear, what my girlfriend and I accomplished in a local courtroom recently has rarely been done.

Without an attorney, we convinced Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Floyd Baxter to kill a plea bargain which we believed - as victims in this case - was too soft.

Because of our simple, yet important involvement, two felons have now been sent to prison instead of going to county jail for a lesser sentence.

It all began on a Saturday morning in February. Christina and I were having bagels and coffee at an outdoor eating area in the middle of a Stevenson Ranch strip mall. It is a pretty, clean and normally crime-free area.

But on this day, a purse snatcher suddenly appeared, stealing Christina's purse right off the table in front of our eyes.

For the first split second, neither of us could believe it was happening. This 18-year-old man grabbed her purse and sprinted to a nearby curb where his getaway driver was waiting.

Christina yelled, ``Stop him!'' But no one could.

We began chasing this old Chevy Blazer as it drove through the parking lot toward the nearby I-5 entrance. It is not as easy as you might think to remember a license plate when you have so much adrenalin pumping, but I managed.

We ran back to the Noah's Bagels and reported the crime to 911. About a half-hour later, the Sheriff's Department pulled over two adults and a juvenile and arrested them.

What we didn't know as we chased these young gang members from Kern County was that inside that old Blazer was also a loaded sawed-off shotgun, brass knuckles, a taped-up baseball bat (a favorite tool of gang members, we've been told) and some crank on the guy who did the actual stealing.

The supervising deputy district attorney piled up a number of felony charges against these guys. But the problem was, while conviction on all counts would've given the two adults more than four years each in prison, the deputy D.A. reached a plea bargain in which they would each serve only one year in jail.

This deal was reached without even discussing it with Christina. When she confronted the deputy D.A. with her displeasure in person, as I did with him over the phone, he made no apologies. He felt the sentence fit the crimes.

When sentencing day came, Christina and I were in court to address the judge. I still remember the hushed response from one of the defense attorneys, after being told by Noyes that a victim and a witness were going to speak to the judge.

``What?'' the lawyer asked. ``On this case?''

That response spoke volumes. Why would anyone care about a purse- stealing case? Why indeed!

Christina and I pulled no punches as we told the judge that we felt the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office was not doing its job. This knee-jerk plea bargain action was not appropriate in this case.

Judge Baxter listened to our every word. The courtroom was silent, except for the lone voices of two people who could not accept what this so- called justice system was spewing forth.

After we each finished, the judge read the arrest reports, then he met in chambers with the attorneys.

After they came out, Judge Baxter said he agreed with us. One year in jail was not appropriate. He favored 16 months in state prison for the two adults, which is eventually what they agreed to in a follow-up plea bargain.

That final plea bargain was handled by another deputy district attorney. I told her I still didn't think 16 months was enough for these two gang members.

``For a purse snatching?'' she objected.

I reminded her, this was more than a purse snatching. Remember the sawed-off shotgun, the brass knuckles, the baseball bat?

While this was not a crime of violence, the men involved - both with past criminal records - are likely headed on that path.

We believe in the ``broken window'' philosophy, in which the law pays close attention to the lesser crimes.

We wanted the law to keep these criminals off the streets for as long as possible. That is impossible to do when plea bargains are accepted in slam-dunk cases.

The only way this will stop is if more victims get involved and stand up for what is right. It can be done. Just ask me or my girlfriend.

As I write this, I am suffering from colon cancer. I don't have a firm prognosis. But I can tell you that if I died tomorrow, I would be proud to be remembered for doing the right thing.