Son of British cabinet minister pleads guilty

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- Alastair Irvine, the 25-year-old son of Great

Britain’s top judicial officer, pleaded guilty Thursday to stalking

and threatening the boyfriend of a woman who spurned his advances.

Irvine, the son of Britain’s Lord Chancellor Alexander Derry

Irvine, entered the plea in a Newport Beach courtroom and was

sentenced to 16 months in state prison. The Newport Beach resident

was arrested in late June on suspicion of vandalism, stalking and

brandishing a weapon.

Irvine, who has already served about six months in county jail,

will only have to serve 10 more months in state prison, said James

Riddet, Irvine’s attorney.

“We’re hoping that if he enrolls in a work program, he’ll get

credit for that and will have to serve only half that time,” Riddet

said.

On Thursday, Irvine pleaded guilty to five felony charges --

vandalism, stalking, burglary, two counts of making threats and one

misdemeanor count of possessing a concealed firearm. He will be

deported soon after he serves the sentence.

The charges against Irvine stem from various incidents starting in

March, when Irvine began pursuing a 19-year-old woman who already had

a boyfriend. When his advances were spurned, Irvine threw acid on the

boyfriend’s car. Then, he walked into Newport Tanning Club in Costa

Mesa -- where the woman and her boyfriend worked -- with a concealed

weapon and threatened the boyfriend with bodily harm.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Fell said he believed Superior Court Judge

Christopher Strople handed down “a firm yet fair sentence.”

“It was a serious case,” he said. “I think he got a fair sentence

commensurate with his criminal activity.”

Fell said the judge also has issued a 10-year restraining order

that prevents Irvine from going near his victims. He added that

Irvine now has two strikes on his record. Under state law, Irvine

would get 25 years to life in prison if he committed another felony.

The judge also ordered Irvine to pay an undisclosed amount of

restitution to the victims for damage caused to property and

“additional money,” Fell said.

Fell added he is happy that the case did not reach the trial

stage.

“It’s good that the victims did not have to go through the horror

of their experiences all over again,” Fell said.

Riddet, said “the family and my client are happy” with the

sentence.

He added that Irvine, who had pleaded not guilty to the crimes,

reversed his plea because there was “no guarantee we’d win.”

“The [district attorney] decided to charge very serious felony

counts combined with an enhancement for possession of a weapon,”

Riddet said. “I’ve felt all the charges were unwarranted, but have

been unable to persuade the [district attorney] to drop them.”

If the case had gone to a jury, the judge would not have had much

say in the case, and Irvine could have faced more than five years in

state prison, he said.

Irvine was being held in Orange County Jail on an Immigration and

Naturalization Service no-bail hold. Riddet said Irvine will never be

able to reenter the United States once he is deported.

“I don’t think he’d want to come back,” he added.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.