Friend recalls doing drugs with Abrams

Deepa Bharath

SANTA ANA -- A childhood friend of Steven Allen Abrams testified for

the prosecution Thursday that the two did drugs together as early as

their preteen years.

Paul Brazer was called by Deputy Dist. Atty. Debora Lloyd, who has

contended that Abrams’ actions on May 3, 1999 -- when he drove his 1967

Cadillac into a crowded Costa Mesa playground, killing two children and

injuring several others -- are best understood as a form of drug-induced

psychosis.

Prosecutors contend that the mental state of the defendant is the

result of years of abuse of methamphetamines, cocaine and marijuana --

not of clinical insanity.

Lloyd began arguments Thursday in the murder trial’s second phase,

which will determine Abrams’ sanity.

A jury on Aug. 24 found Abrams guilty of two counts of murder and

several counts of attempted murder for intentionally driving his car into

the Southcoast Early Childhood Learning Center.

He could face the death penalty if he is found to be sane, but his

attorneys have presented a weeks-long defense arguing that he was

mentally incompetent at the time of the incident.

Abrams, who was present at the hearing Thursday -- cleanshaven, long

hair curling below his shoulders, dressed in a white pinstriped shirt and

dark gray pants -- sat with his head bowed throughout.

Brazer said he was only 9 when he met Abrams, who was then 12. Abrams

spent time with Brazer’s older brother, he said.

“They’d hang out in our place because mom wasn’t home,” said Brazer,

smiling. “I’d join them every now and then. ... we’d do weed, drink beer

and do other types of drugs.”

Brazer said he lost touch with Abrams after turning 21, but renewed

the acquaintance when he moved next door to the defendant in 1993. They

did methamphetamines together for a while, he said.

Brazer said Abrams behaved “strangely” and did a “lot of talking and

babbling.”

“He would talk basically about the moon and stars and energy -- just

bizarre stuff like that,” he said. “He talked about being watched and

followed.”

Their relationship soured after Abrams had an affair with his wife,

said Brazer. He also said Abrams pointed a gun at him on two occasions --

one a shotgun and the other a pistol.

Public defender Leonard Gumlia produced a copy of a lease agreement

signed by Brazer and his wife that established that Abrams and Brazer had

been doing drugs together for not more than five weeks as neighbors in

that apartment complex.

Among other witnesses questioned Thursday were psychiatrist Jose Moral

of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and Abrams’ sister,

Linda Oberlin.

The hearing will continue Oct. 4.