A wierd flip of occasions within the case of the rich inheritor to a raisin empire who yelled vile antisemitic slurs at his Rabbi neighbor as he tries to keep away from going to trial.
A raveled Bruce Lion, 64, appeared earlier than Choose Ronald Kaye on Monday sporting a yellow jail jumpsuit, a grey beard, and shackles as he fought three felony costs stemming from an alleged antisemitic tirade directed at his Jewish neighbor from the balcony of his $5.3 million Pacific Palisades dwelling.
Lion instructed the choose he needed to switch his public defender with attorneys Alexandra Kazarian and Salinas-based John Klopfenstein, who has represented the rich Lion raisin inheritor in earlier legal circumstances. “We’ve got a protracted historical past,” Lion stated.
Lion grew agitated when Klopfenstein prompt persevering with the listening to till subsequent Monday. “Wait, wait, wait, John,” he shouted as bailiffs stepped between the 2.
After a quick recess, the courtroom ordered an on-site competency analysis. Dr. Becker discovered Lion “competent to face trial,” however Klopfenstein instantly requested a second analysis by Pasadena psychiatrist Dr. Alan Chen.
Requested by The California Publish why he needed a second opinion, Klopfenstein stated the protection is pursuing psychological well being diversion however declined to elaborate.
Earlier than Lion was led again to his cell, Choose Kaye reminded him he stays below a protecting order requiring him to avoid his neighbor, Rabbi Zushe Cunin, whose movies of the inheritor allegedly hurling antisemitic threats from the balcony of his Pacific Palisades mansion led to his June arrest.
“I don’t know what he appears to be like like. I don’t know who he’s,” Lion instructed the choose, referring to Cunin.
Kazarian requested the courtroom to quickly elevate the order so Lion may retrieve belongings from his dwelling, about 300 yards from the rabbi’s residence. The choose swiftly denied the request.
A girl within the gallery, who declined to be recognized, stated she can be prepared to gather Lion’s belongings. Bail stays set at $225,000, and it’s unclear whether or not he will probably be launched.
Lion faces two felony counts of creating legal threats with intent to terrorize and one depend of threatening drive primarily based on an individual’s beliefs. The California Publish obtained a number of movies allegedly displaying him harassing Cunin.
In a single video, Lion yells, “I ain’t going nowhere, Jew boy. Lose some f—ing weight. Go f—ing work. Do one thing for a change.”
When he was arrested on June 13, he was additionally captured on video shouting, “Hey, f— you Jews, f— you Jews, you’re going to hell,” and different antisemitic remarks as officers positioned him right into a patrol automotive.
The rant continued when Lion requested the particular person filming his arrest in the event that they had been Jewish. “Hey, are you Jewish, boy? As a result of it’s beginning. 5 days in the past. Judgment day motherf—er. Inform your mates.”
Lion has a prolonged rap sheet, together with serving jail time in 2019 for making legal threats and having a gun, regardless of a courtroom barring him from proudly owning a firearm.
In that incident, he was convicted of violating a home violence restraining order after authorities stated he possessed a firearm and made threats.
He was arrested in 2023 for allegedly throwing rocks at automobiles in Monterey County, blocking the freeway with particles and assaulting building staff. Lion was booked on costs that included assault, false imprisonment, vandalism, and assault with a lethal weapon aside from a firearm.
Lion was arrested once more in 2023 after Fresno police stated he violated a home violence protecting order on the dwelling of his ex-wife. The arrest got here in the future after officers responded to a different home violence-related incident on the identical handle however didn’t take Lion into custody.
If convicted in his most up-to-date case he faces 9 years behind bars.
