SUBURBAN CHIMP FOCUS OF COURT BATTLE.Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services Supporters picketed outside a courthouse Thursday and a defendant wept: ``I want our family back together.'' The tears were for Moe, a chimpanzee chimpanzee, an ape, genus Pan, of the equatorial forests of central and W Africa. The common chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes, lives N of the Congo River. Full-grown animals of this species are up to 5 ft (1. who has lived with St. James and LaDonna Davis for 30 years but is now caged at a wildlife center while a legal battle rages over whether he may return to a suburban lifestyle. In one of the stranger cases to come before the Municipal Court, an army of lawyers showed up Thursday to argue about the fate of the local celebrity who has been described by neighbors as ``a good citizen.'' ``He causes a lot less problems than the kids in the neighborhood,'' said Susan Stewart For the "As the World Turns" character, see Dr. Susan Stewart. Susan Stewart is an American poet, university professor and literary critic born in 1952. , who lives near the couple who bill themselves as Moe's ``parents.'' A twist Thursday brought City Attorney Betsy Martyn to the court to overrule The refusal by a judge to sustain an objection set forth by an attorney during a trial, such as an objection to a particular question posed to a witness. To make void, annul, supersede, or reject through a subsequent decision or action. a colleague's deal to drop a misdemeanor count against the Davises of illegally housing a wild animal. Martyn said the charge against St. James and LaDonna Davis will go forward on Nov. 18. The city, has been steadfast against allowing Moe back into the Davis home, claiming the chimp is a public safety threat. Martyn's sudden say in the proceedings drew condemnation from Davises' attorney, Gloria Allred Gloria Rachel Allred (born Gloria Rachel Bloom on July 3, 1941) is an American lawyer and radio talk show host. She is also the mother of Court TV hostess Lisa Bloom. , who said Martyn ``butted in'' and politicized Moe's plight. Said Martyn: ``I did butt in, but I wasn't politicizing. I thought it was the right thing to do to protect the city's interests.'' Moe was moved last month to the Wildlife Waystation The Wildlife WayStation is a 160-acre refuge in northern Los Angeles County dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating wild and exotic animals. A charitable corporation located within the boundaries of Angeles National Forest, the facility was founded in 1976 by animal activist in the mountains north of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. community of Lake View Terrace, after he allegedly bit off the fingertip fin·ger·tip n. The extreme end or tip of a finger. of a woman visiting his West Covina West Covina, city (1990 pop. 96,086), Los Angeles co., S Calif., in the San Gabriel valley; settled 1905, inc. 1923. Before World War II, West Covina was a small rural community where walnuts, wheat, and livestock were raised. backyard compound. Police Chief Frank Wills Frank Wills (February 4, 1948 – September 27, 2000) was the security guard who uncovered the break-in that led to the Watergate scandal. In June 1972, Wills was working as a private security guard at the Watergate office building, the location of the Democratic has since declared Moe a dangerous wild animal, a distinction that prevents the Davises from being able to acquire the necessary city permit to house the chimp. The proposal by Deputy City Prosecutor Dan Peelman to drop the charge caught some city officials by surprise. Such a move could be interpreted as support for returning the 33-year-old chimp to the Davises, Martyn said. Martyn said Peelman apparently proposed dropping the charge without first ``discussing this proposal with anyone in the city.'' Peelman said he was willing to drop charges if the Davises agreed not to return Moe to their home. But Allred and Davis attorney Ronald Richards said that has never been the couple's intent. ``We reject any kind of deal that would require the Davises to agree they will not bring Moe back to the city of West Covina,'' Allred said. ``They're not going to agree in advance to exile Moe. If we need to go to trial, we will.'' Attorneys for the Davises said they were also disappointed by Martyn's suggestion Thursday that the couple plead no contest to the charge and accept three years' probation, including a condition that Moe not be allowed in the city during that time. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: LaDonna and St James Davis, background, owners of the chimp named Moe, are represented in court Thursday by attorneys Gloria Allred and Ronald Richards. James Ku/Staff Photographer |
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