Judge throws out some charges in Costa Mesa spying case

An Orange County judge Thursday threw out charges that two private investigators conspired to make a false drunk-driving report about Costa Mesa Councilman Jim Righeimer in 2012 and, in doing so, caused a police officer to hold the councilman against his will.

Despite dismissing conspiracy and false-imprisonment charges in connection with that incident, Superior Court Judge Denise de Bellefeuille ruled that the two private investigators still must face felony conspiracy charges related to allegations that they used GPS units to illegally track two other people, including Costa Mesa Councilman Steve Mensinger, who is now the city’s mayor.

Defendants Chris Lanzillo and Scott Impola previously pleaded not guilty to all the accusations and are free on bail.

Bellefeuille made her decision at a preliminary hearing for Lanzillo and Impola, former Riverside police officers whom prosecutors have accused of spying on the councilmen in the run-up to the contentious local election in 2012.

At the time, Lanzillo and Impola were working for a law firm retained by the Costa Mesa Police Assn., which clashed with the councilmen as they were trying to reduce spending on pensions and other employee costs.

The police union and the law firm — the now-defunct Upland-based Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir — have not been charged with any crime. The association agreed to testify about its communications with the firm in exchange for prosecutors granting its members immunity in the case.

According to testimony from the former union president, he had asked the law firm to find dirt on the councilmen but never discussed GPS tracking or a DUI setup.

The charges that Bellefeuille threw out were related to an incident on Aug. 22, 2012, when Lanzillo allegedly followed Righeimer from a Costa Mesa pub and called 911 to report him swerving in and out of lanes.

A police officer responded to Righeimer’s home — Lanzillo had followed him there — and conducted a sobriety test, clearing Righeimer of any impairment.

The Orange County district attorney’s office contended that the false report caused the officer to briefly detain Righeimer outside his home, therefore justifying the false-imprisonment charge.

Bellefeuille disagreed after hearing an audio recording of the encounter.

“The contact between Officer [Kha] Bao and the councilman was fleeting,” she said. “It was less than a minute.”

Righeimer readily agreed to perform the sobriety test, according to the judge.

“He consented,” Bellefeuille said. “He was not detained.”

She added, however, that there was enough evidence to support a reduced charge of attempted false imprisonment against Lanzillo.

Bellefeuille also rejected the idea that Impola and Lanzillo conspired to make the false report of driving under the influence.

Prosecutor Robert Mestman presented evidence that Impola was in Skosh Monahan’s restaurant and bar surveilling its owner, Costa Mesa Councilman Gary Monahan, on Aug. 22.

When Impola saw Righeimer enter the restaurant, he called Lanzillo, who began driving toward the area, Mestman said.

Lanzillo never entered the bar, and although prosecutors showed evidence that he and Impola exchanged texts and calls at the time, Bellefeuille decided there was no evidence that Impola and Lanzillo plotted the DUI report together, and she threw out the conspiracy count against both.

However, she said prosecutors could justify charging Lanzillo alone with making a false police report.

Bellefeuille agreed with prosecutors that there was evidence to support a suspicion that Lanzillo and Impola conspired to illegally track two people through GPS units attached to their cars.

Prosecutors used search warrants to obtain records for the devices, which they allege Lanzillo purchased with a credit card issued to him by Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir.

During Thursday’s hearing, Mestman displayed maps that plotted the GPS units “pinging” at Lanzillo’s and Impola’s homes before matching the movements to vehicles owned by Mensinger and an attorney who worked at a firm that competed with Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir.

Bellefeuille’s decision at the hearing does not indicate guilt; it means she believes there is enough evidence to hold the defendants for a jury trial.

Lanzillo and Impola each originally faced up to four years and four months behind bars if convicted.

As he left the courtroom Thursday, Lanzillo smiled and rubbed his hands together, saying he was “very happy” with the outcome.

Later in the day, prosecutors said Lanzillo could still get four years in prison on the reduced charges. Impola could receive a maximum sentence of three years and four months.