Haidl goes from hospital room to jail cell

Marisa O’Neil

An Orange County Superior Court judge on Tuesday sent Greg Haidl, the

19-year-old son of former Orange County Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl,

to jail to await retrial in a high-profile gang-rape case.

Judge Francisco Briseno revoked Greg Haidl’s bail Monday after

ruling that he violated two conditions of his $100,000 bail when he

got into an alcohol-related traffic accident Oct. 30. Briseno

considered temporarily posting two sheriff’s deputies at South Coast

Medical Center in Laguna Beach, where Greg Haidl is bring treated for

depression. The judge decided such a move was “just not practical.”

Greg Haidl will likely end up in the jail’s mental ward, where he

will be closely supervised, a jail official testified.

“He would receive adequate supervision and care in the Orange

County Sheriff’s facility,” Sheriff Capt. Deana Bergquist told the

judge.

A doctor testified on Monday that Greg Haidl told him he’d rather

kill himself than go to jail. The teenager had already made two

suicide attempts, the doctor added.

Bergquist, who visited South Coast Medical Center Tuesday morning

and spoke to an administrator, testified that the hospital believed

having deputies at the facility would be a “potential detriment” to

other patients in the 32-bed facility. No weapons are allowed inside

the building, which could compromise deputies’ safety, she said.

The jail deals with suicidal inmates and could provide adequate

supervision and care for Greg Haidl, she said.

“But there is no guarantee at any facility,” she said.

Defense attorney Joseph Cavallo said Don Haidl’s former position

would make his son a target for violence in the jail.

“He’s probably in more danger in the Orange County Jail than

anywhere else,” Cavallo said.

After a brief recess and testimony from an assistant sheriff who

reiterated Bergquist’s statements, Briseno ordered Greg Haidl to be

transferred immediately to the jail, where his condition will be

assessed. Greg Haidl’s repeated run-ins with the law showed he was a

danger to the community and in a “downward spiral,” Briseno said.

Greg Haidl and friends Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann, both 19,

are accused of raping an allegedly unconscious 16-year-old girl at

Don Haidl’s Corona del Mar home. The July 5, 2002 incident was

videotaped. Briseno declared a mistrial earlier this year when a jury

hopelessly deadlocked on a verdict.

Since then, Greg Haidl had a series of run-ins with police,

including charges of the statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl. After

that, the judge put restrictions on his bail and promised to throw

him in jail until the completion of the trial, scheduled to start

Jan. 31, if he violated any of them.

Greg Haidl’s doctor on Monday testified that his patient had been

illegally obtaining prescription drugs and had drunk part of a beer

the night of his accident -- both violations of his bail.

His actions put the general public at risk, Briseno said, but he

also needed the assurances from sheriff’s deputies that Greg Haidl

would be adequately supervised in jail.

“I need to provide for the safety of the community, but I also

have to provide for the safety of him,” he said.

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

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at [email protected].