VARIOUS: SON OF BRITAIN'S LORD CHANCELLOR ARRESTED ON STALKING CHARGES AND CARRYING CONCEALED WEAPON AND THREE OTHER FELONIES

Record ID: 640483

  • Title: VARIOUS: SON OF BRITAIN'S LORD CHANCELLOR ARRESTED ON STALKING CHARGES AND CARRYING CONCEALED WEAPON AND THREE OTHER FELONIES
  • Date: 2nd August 2002
  • Summary: (U1)SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 01, 2002) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) TORI RICHARDS SAYING "In recent years, stalking laws in the United States and California have been toughened significantly. Brandishing a weapon, that's a misdemeanour. We feel that the more serious charges here are the stalking and the criminal threat where you threaten basically the life of somebody, are to be taken seriously and we're glad we have laws that protect citizens from this type of thing."
  • Embargoed: 17th August 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: COSTA MESA, SANTA ANA, ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES/UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime,General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA45N4FXWT39B662KA3L6B3QQAC
  • Story Text: The son of Britain's top law officer, the Lord Chancellor, has been sitting in a suburban Los Angeles-area jail since late June on charges of stalking the boyfriend of a tanning salon employee he wanted to have a romantic relationship with.
    The Orange County District Attorney's office said that Alastair Irvine, 25, son of Lord Chancellor Derry Irvine, made threats against the boyfriend of a 19-year-old woman after she rebuffed his advances.
    Dr. Suzie Schuder, a psychiatrist treating the younger Irvine for drug dependency, said in court papers that the younger Irvine has "a history of major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder," as well as "substance abuse, which he used as a form of self-medication."
    Dr. Schuder added that Irvine is "fragile despite any bravado he have displayed," adding that he "feels hopeless, helpless and worthless."
    Irvine has also been charged with using a caustic substance to vandalize a truck belonging to the boyfriend, Karel Taska, 19, and a car belonging to a neighbour.
    Irvine has been held in Orange County Jail since June 21.
    The U.S Immigration and Naturalization Service has blocked his release on $100,000 bail, a standard procedure for any immigrant charged with a crime.
    British newspapers said Irvine had been sent by his parents to the United States for treatment for drug addiction.
    A spokesman for the Costa Mesa Police Department said that Irvine was not under the influence of drugs when he was taken into custody.
    Derry Irvine, a close friend of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, is the senior legal official in Great Britain. The Lord Chancellor administers the court system and advises on the appointment of judges.
    The younger Irvine "became enamoured of a woman in a Costa Mesa tanning salon and wanted to have a romantic relationship with her," said district attorney's spokeswoman Tori Richards.
    "She told him she had a boyfriend, but Mr. Irvine continued to bring flowers to her and call her."
    She said that on June 6, Irvine poured a caustic substance on Taska's truck, causing $5,700 in damage.
    On June 13, Irvine allegedly went to the tanning salon with a gun in his belt. "He approached an employee there, showed that he had a handgun in his waist band, and threatened the life of Mr. Taska," Richards said.
    Irvine has been charged with one count of felony stalking, two felony counts of vandalism, one count of criminal threats and one count of second-degree burglary. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
    Irvine, who has pleaded not guilty, is scheduled to be arraigned in Orange County Superior Court on Aug. 6.
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