D.A. files charges against Rodman

Deepa Bharath

SANTA ANA -- The Orange County district attorney charged Dennis Rodman

with three counts of criminal misdemeanor Thursday, alleging he used

amplifiers illegally during his May 12 birthday bash on the beach.

The charges state that Rodman violated the Newport Beach Municipal

Code by disturbing the peace and causing “loud, raucous noise” in a

public place by possessing and operating sound amplifying equipment

without a permit.

If convicted, Rodman could face 18 months in jail and a $3,000 fine.

He would also get an additional year and a $2,000 fine for violating

probation. Rodman was arrested last year for driving under the influence

of alcohol and driving without a valid license.

The charges come on the heels of a civil lawsuit filed May 25 by the

city of Newport Beach against Josh Slocum’s seafood restaurant, which is

partly owned by Rodman. City officials said the intent of the suit is to

make the restaurant comply with city codes for live music, dancing and

overcrowding.

“But the two cases are separate and distinct,” said Newport Beach City

Atty. Dan Ohl. He said none of the seven defendants have been served with

a copy of the lawsuit yet.

Rodman’s attorney, Paul Meyer, said the city and the district attorney

have “singled out” his client for prosecution.

“This involves a birthday party during the day on a weekend at the

beach,” he said.

Meyer pointed out, sarcastically, that misdemeanor charges against

anyone else wouldn’t fetch the press a news conference. Both Meyer and

the district attorney’s office held separate media conferences Thursday

afternoon.

“This is all very strange,” he said. “Clearly [Rodman] is being

singled out.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Fell refuted the argument that Rodman was

being discriminated against because he is a celebrity. He said his

conference was held merely for convenience and not to blow the issue out

of proportion.

“This is by no means a witch hunt,” Fell said. “Newport Beach police

have shown a great deal of professionalism and restraint in this case.”

He said police contacted Rodman the day before the party and told him

that use of sound amplifying equipment required apermit from the city.

They warned him twice on the day of the party, Fell said.

“They gave him the opportunity to abide by the law,” he said. “And his

response was ‘I’m gonna do what I’m gonna do.”’

But Meyer says that if somebody wants to have a birthday party in his

house, he should be able to do so without police interference.

“This was not a loud or unreasonable party,” he said. “Anybody who

knows that area knows what it’s like during the day and what it’s like at

night.”

Newport Beach Councilman Gary Proctor, a West Newport resident

himself, said Meyer’s criticism of law enforcement is “unfair.”

“There are parties in that area,” said Proctor, who lives half a mile

from Rodman’s Seashore Drive home. “But the police respond only when

there are complaints. And they have responded to [Rodman’s] parties

almost 80 times.”

The volume of noise-related complaints warranted the action, said the

councilman, who recently pushed for a change to the city’s noise

ordinance that will make it easier to bring criminal charges against

violators.

“It’s like saying that the intersection of Jamboree [Road] and Pacific

Coast Highway has been singled out for traffic investigation,” Proctor

rationalized. “If there are more than an average number of accidents

there, then obviously there would be an investigation into the matter.”

Rodman is scheduled to be arraigned June 20 at Harbor Justice Center.