MOORPARK : Goldstein’s Bid to Leave Jail Denied

Gerald Goldstein, a 65-year-old Moorpark man accused of trying to run down a city code-enforcement officer, Thursday lost an attempt to get out of County Jail without bail.

Superior Court Judge Charles McGrath denied a motion by defense attorney Louis Samonsky to have Goldstein released on his own recognizance. The bail stands at $25,000, and Samonsky was uncertain if the trust fund set up to provide for Goldstein’s daily needs would pay it.

Goldstein, who is known for humorous and sometimes cutting criticism of officials at Moorpark City Council meetings, has a long history of problems with code-enforcement officers for piling heaps of junk into his home.

In 1992, his home--stuffed to the tops of door wells with old newspapers, magazines and found objects--had to be torn down. The mobile home that was put in its place on the Beltramo Ranch Road property was also soon cluttered with trash and for health reasons had to be cleaned up, Moorpark officials said.

In September, Mario Riley, a code-enforcement officer for the city, arrived at Goldstein’s property with two Ventura County sheriff’s deputies, a cleanup crew and a psychologist in charge of the trust fund to clean out the trash. Goldstein allegedly became incensed and tried to run over Riley with his truck.

At Thursday’s hearing, prosecutor David Armstrong called Goldstein “a lit fuse whenever anyone tries to clear away his trash.”

During the 1992 cleanup effort, Armstrong said, Goldstein tried to hit one man in the head with a hoe, hit another man with a fire extinguisher and threw a can of beans at a third.

“Anyone out there could be imperiled by this man,” Armstrong said.

But Samonsky countered that Goldstein had no criminal record and that the incidents Armstrong brought up were not substantiated. Furthermore, Samonsky called several of Goldstein’s friends, who testified that he is not a violent person.

Neighbor Kenneth Whalen said that if Goldstein were released, the family would allow him to stay with them and their 2-year-old son.

“We would welcome Gerry into our home,” Whalen said. “We have no reservations about it.”

Meanwhile, Goldstein awaits his trial, which his attorney expects to take five or six days. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12, and his jury trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 22.