Laguna man pleads innocent Laguna Beach resident...

Laguna man

pleads innocent

Laguna Beach resident John R. Powell pleaded innocent Monday to

charges of having lied to and obstructed a federal agency during

civil proceedings about oil investments he offered.

If convicted of all three counts, Powell, 45, faces a statutory

sentence of up to 15 years in prison and a $750,000 fine, said Thom

Mrozek, public affairs officer for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los

Angeles. The charges are related to an ongoing investigation by the

FBI.

Powell was indicted by a grand jury on Aug. 5 and is scheduled to

go to trial on Oct. 21.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission originally sued Powell

in July 1998, claiming he violated federal securities laws with a

fraudulent oil-well investment he offered through a company called

Environmental Energy Inc.

To avoid paying the agency a judgment of $571,842, according to

the indictment, Powell undervalued his $3-million Laguna Beach house

by nearly $2 million and falsely claimed having a negative net worth.

Powell is also accused of having used a bank account through a

film company he owned and controlled to pay his mortgage and other

expenses using funds he was trying to hide from the agency.

Man arrested on suspicion of assault

Police arrested a 21-year-old resident Sunday on suspicion of

assault with a deadly weapon after he reportedly hit his neighbor’s

father over the head with a wooden planter.

The victim, 52-year-old Gary Huggett, said Joshua Kane Webb also

threw a piece of sheet metal at him, but it missed, Laguna Police

Sgt. Darin Lenyi said. Huggett suffered a cut ear but wasn’t taken to

the hospital.

Webb, who is 6 feet 5 inches tall and 210 pounds, had to be pulled

off of Huggett. The witness who pulled him off said Webb was choking

the victim when he was walking by the apartment building’s courtyard

in the 200 block of Cypress Drive.

Webb had to be taken to the hospital after police arrived for

treatment of a badly sprained wrist suffered while being subdued by

the witness, Lenyisaid.

Huggett’s daughter said she had had several arguments with Webb

and her father had verbally confronted him while having a cigar

outside. Webb reportedly responded by attacking Huggett at 6:16 p.m.

Webb was taken to Orange County Jail after receiving medical

treatment. He’s being held on $50,000 bail.

Ninth Citizen’s Academy begins

Twenty students started the ninth Citizen’s Police Academy offered

by the Laguna Beach Police Department Wednesday.

The 12-week class, which aims to give students an impression of

what it’s like to be a police officer and teach citizens how the

system works, is run by Sgt. Darin Lenyi.

“Our smallest class was 14, our largest 27, and we like to be

between 18 and 22, so we’re right where we want to be,” Lenyi said.

Activities offered during the free class include time in the

shooting range and visiting the county jail.

-- Mike Swanson