THIRD STRIKE IN CAR ASSAULT MAN GETS STIFF PENALTY FOR DRIVING INTO DEPUTY.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - A Palmdale ex-convict has been sentenced to 31 years to life in prison for driving a car into a sheriff's deputy, shoving the officer into the street.

Melvin Bell, 32, was convicted by an Antelope Valley Superior Court jury of assault with deadly weapon on a peace officer, a conviction that counted as his third strike.

``Even under Proposition 66, should that pass, he would still be considered a third-striker,'' Deputy District Attorney Dan Akemon said. ``That's how bad of a guy he is.''

Proposition 66, which goes before voters on Tuesday, proposes to soften California's ``three strikes'' law that makes criminals eligible for a sentence of 25 years to life if they commit a third felony. Proposition 66 would require the third felony to be violent or serious, and defines what constitutes serious.

Bell, who was convicted Oct. 1 of the assault charge, was sentenced on Thursday. He was convicted as a juvenile in 1990 of armed robbery and in 1997 of an assault that involved use of a firearm, Akemon said.

Bell had been charged but not yet tried on charges dating from November 2003 of possession of marijuana for sale and resisting arrest, Akemon said.

Bell's attorney, David Houchin, had argued for a misdemeanor conviction, which would not have counted toward a third strike. Houchin said Bell steered right over a curb and did not knock down the deputy.

``He never fell down. He took steps backwards,'' Houchin said. ``There was no contact. He was driving right, not left, when he left the officer.''

The incident with the deputy occurred on April 16 after the deputy stopped a car Bell was driving on Lancaster Boulevard for making an illegal turn, Akemon said.

The deputy checked the license plate and found a warrant for Bell's arrest for failing to appear in court on a traffic ticket, Akemon said.

When the deputy asked Bell to step out of the car, Bell put the car into drive and drove forward, Akemon said. The deputy reached in the window and tried to stop the car, Akemon said.

``Finally Bell stepped on it and sped away... When he pulled away, the car came into the deputy and knocked him into the middle of the boulevard,'' Akemon said.

After Bell sped off the deputy gave chase in his patrol car but lost sight of the car, Akemon said. Within 15 minutes, authorities found the car but a woman was driving it, Akemon said.

Bell was arrested June 8 in Palmdale after another traffic stop led to a short pursuit, Akemon said.

Deputies tried to a stop a car that ran a stop sign and was swerving and weaving on the road at slow speeds, Akemon said.

The car then accelerated and a police pursuit ensued with speeds reaching up to 80 mph. The car stopped near Avenue P-12 and Rambler Avenue, and the front passenger, who turned out to be Bell, ran from the car, Akemon said.

A search dog was brought in to help look for Bell. The dog found Bell in a trash can, Akemon said.