Judge to hear Haidl bail motion

Marisa O’Neil

An Orange County Superior Court judge is set to decide today whether

the son of a former county assistant sheriff will go to jail while he

awaits retrial in a gang-rape case.

At a hearing today, prosecutors will argue that 19-year-old Greg Haidl, son of retired Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, violated the terms

of his bail two weeks ago by drinking alcohol. Orange County Superior

Court Judge Francisco Briseno in March signed a court order that

included what he called a “no mercy provision,” ordering that if Greg

Haidl violated any of the conditions, he would go to jail until the

upcoming trial ends.

“We anticipate the judge will listen to the evidence ... then come

to the conclusion that Mr. [Greg] Haidl had been drinking alcohol on

Oct. 30, and because of his behavior, that will result in his bail

being revoked,” Orange County Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Chuck

Middleton said.

Greg Haidl is free on $100,000 bail while awaiting retrial on

charges that he, Keith Spann and Kyle Nachreiner gang-raped an

allegedly unconscious 16-year-old girl in Don Haidl’s Corona del Mar

home in 2002. The incident was videotaped.

Briseno declared a mistrial in June after a jury deadlocked on the

charges.

The judge put serious restrictions -- including staying away from

underage girls and requiring the wearing of a tracking device -- on

Greg Haidl’s bail in March after a series of run-ins with the law.

One of those was the alleged statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl in

June.

The latest request to revoke Greg Haidl’s bail came after he was

involved in a traffic accident the night of Oct. 30 in Santa Ana,

according to police. A preliminary alcohol screening test

administered at the scene registered a blood alcohol level of .02% --

below the legal limit but enough to show he’d consumed some alcohol,

Middleton said.

Defense attorneys for Greg Haidl said that a number of factors,

including spicy food, can register on the test, making it appear that

someone has been drinking. Greg Haidl had not been drinking, attorney

Pete Scalisi said last week, but had just eaten a spicy Indian meal.

Prosecutors aren’t buying that excuse.

In a study conducted in the sheriff department’s crime lab, a

person ate Indian food and then blew into the same machine used on

Greg Haidl after the accident, Middleton said. The machine registered

0% each of the four times, he said.

Greg Haidl was hospitalized with depression following the

accident, according to his attorneys. Briseno ordered him to stay in

the hospital until he decides whether or not to revoke his bail.

The gang-rape retrial is scheduled to begin Jan. 31.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.