Arraignment postponed again for LA City Councilman Curren Price
Arraignment was postponed again today for LA City Councilman Curren Price, who is now due in court Jan. 8.
Price who represented District 9, faces criminal charges of embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest for allegedly voting on projects involving developers tied to his wife's consulting firm, then failing to report the connections.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig Richman noted Friday that he has not had a chance to review court filings involving the defense's legal challenge that is expected to be heard involving the 10 charges against the councilman before the arraignment goes forward.
The councilman was charged June 13 with five counts of grand theft by embezzlement, three counts of perjury and two counts of conflict of interest, according to the criminal complaint.
Defense attorneys contend in a court filing that the five counts of grand theft by embezzlement against Price are "barred by the statute of limitations."
The defense also contends that the allegations in the complaint are "insufficient to allege a crime" involving the two conflict-of-interest charges, and that the facts stated in the complaint involving the three perjury charges "do not constitute a public offense."
The 72-year-old city councilman has remained free on his own recognizance but was required to be fingerprinted and booked.
"We are looking forward to engaging with the DA in the coming weeks and we are grateful that the Court has given us time to do so," wrote Price in a statement earlier.
Price stepped down as council president pro tem and surrendered all of his committee assignments as he said he did not want to be a distraction to the people's business.
Council President Paul Krekorian introduced a motion to suspend Price a day after the criminal case was filed. But the Los Angeles City Council's Rules, Elections, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee subsequently voted to defer a recommendation regarding the possible suspension of Price until its Aug. 25 meeting.
"As we said when the charges were brought, we believe that the charges filed by the DA's office are completely unwarranted and that the facts will bear this out. I have always conducted myself, in and out of the public eye, with integrity and professionalism," wrote Price in a statement following Wednesday morning's court appearance.