Criminal
Jun. 19, 2002
Conviction for Threatening DA Could Mean Life
RIVERSIDE - Eighteen months ago, Supervising Deputy District Attorney John Davis offered a Moreno Valley man a 16 1/2-year prison sentence in exchange for his guilty plea to attempted murder, robbery and other crimes.
The defendant, Russell McAllister, accepted the plea agreement. With time, however, McAllister concluded that he had gotten a "raw deal" and threatened to have Davis killed, according to the deputy attorney general who prosecuted McAllister for the threats.
After deliberating less than two days, a Riverside jury late Friday found McAllister guilty of attempting to threaten a public official and attempting a criminal threat. The conviction gives McAllister his third strike and a possible life term when he returns to the courtroom of Judge Robert McIntyre on Aug. 12 for sentencing. People v. McAllister, RIF101081 (Riverside Super. Ct., filed Jan. 4, 2002).
McAllister and co-defendant Darren Anderson pleaded guilty in January 2001 to attempted murder, robbery, attempted carjacking and other charges linked to a convenience store holdup in Moreno Valley. Both were sentenced to 161/2 years.
Once in prison, McAllister was "talked into believing" he got a bad deal, and he blamed Davis, the prosecutor said last week.
In a letter last year, McAllister told Davis that he intended to "deep-six" him, Deputy Attorney General Michael T. Murphy argued at McAllister's trial last week.
The attorney general's office prosecuted the case after the district attorney's office, which employs Davis, declared a conflict.
In the letter, McAllister told Davis, "I'm going to have you killed in the name of my forefathers."
McAllister mailed the letter from Centinela State Prison in Imperial, where he is incarcerated.
Prosecutors charged McAllister with two felony counts: threatening a public official and making a criminal threat.
During the two-day trial, Davis described the effects the threat had on his life. He testified that, for a time, he parked his car in different places, took different routes to work and scanned people on his way to the courthouse.
But the jury convicted McAllister on lesser charges of attempting to threaten Davis.
"Obviously, my client and I are disappointed in the verdict," Deputy Public Defender O.G. Magno said Monday.
Deputy Attorney General Michael T. Murphy could not be reached for comment.
Jason Armstrong & Sean Windle
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