Colonies case might be split in two

The largest corruption case in the history of San Bernardino County might be divided into separate trials.

Attorneys for former Supervisor Paul Biane and Mark Kirk, former chief of staff to Supervisor Gary Ovitt maintain that their clients face different charges than the other two defendants in the Colonies Crossroads case – developer Jeff Burum and former Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin – and so they should be tried separately.

“California law clearly states that defendants can’t be tried together unless they face common counts,” attorney Paul Grech said.

Grech, who is representing Kirk, declined to say why it would be advantage to his client to be tried separately. San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Michael A. Smith said he expects to issue a written ruling on that request Oct. 1.

Smith also reaffirmed his dismissal of a conspiracy count against the four defendants. Prosecutors did not drop that charge in an amended complaint, so Smith today repeated his ruling of July 23.

All four defendant were to be arraigned today on various corruption charges, but that changed when an attorney for Biane said his client was not ready for arraignment.

Prosecutors allege that Burum paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to fake political action committees to get a favorable settlement out of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors regarding construction of Colonies Crossroads, the Upland retail and residential project that Burum developed.

The settlement involved the removal of a flood control channel that had to be moved before construction could begin.

All four defendants maintain their innocence on all charges and say the charges against them are politically motivated. The case remains in pre-trial stage, with the next session scheduled for Sept. 4.