Man who wrote book on Steven Stayner defends himself at hearing
Patty
Echols defends himself at hearing
Speaks despite lawyer's advice
By JOE LIVERNOIS
Monterey Herald
The strange case of Mike Echols took an even stranger twist Thursday
when the crusader against pedophilia ignored his attorney's advice and
gave an impassioned speech in court defending himself against charges
of trespassing and indecent exposure.
Echols' testimony appeared to have little effect on Monterey County
Superior Court Judge Lydia Villareal, who ruled that he had violated
the terms of his probation when he failed to appear in court Nov. 22
to face the misdemeanor charges.
Echols, 58, was put on probation about two years ago after serving 60
days of a six-month sentence for making terrorist threats against
employees and administrators of the Monterey-Salinas Transit system.
Echols, whose full name is Walter Harlan Echols II, is the founder of
a child advocacy group known as Better a Millstone and is known for
his book "I Know My First Name is Steven." The book chronicles the
case of Steven Stayner, the Merced boy who was kidnapped at age 7 and
sexually abused for years.
Echols currently faces charges of indecent exposure and trespassing
stemming from two separate incidents that have been consolidated into
one case. The trial is set for Dec. 16.
He disputes the charges, which arose from an incident at the old Fort
Ord military installation on March 17 and an incident on a
Monterey-Salinas Transit bus in October.
Throughout the court hearing Thursday, Echols argued with his
attorney, David Brown, and was asked to calm down by the judge and the
bailiff during several outbursts.
Earlier in the day, Echols demanded that Brown be replaced, but
Villarreal ruled that Brown should stay.
The Fort Ord incident stems from an apparent dispute with Presidio of
Monterey police officers who say Echols had parked his car on the
property and refused to leave after several warnings.
After being cited for trespassing and obstructing an officer, Echols
was transported to the edge of the Fort Ord property and released,
according to Officer John Chapman. At that point, Chapman testified,
Echols dropped his pants and waved his genitalia at him. Echols denies
it.
In the bus incident, Salinas police say they were asked to escort
Echols off the bus after a dispute with the driver over the fare.
Echols refused to leave, according to Salinas Police Sgt. Don Cline,
and was cited for trespassing.
While escorting him from the bus, Echols again lost his trousers.
Cline said Echols walked off the bus with his pants at his ankles.
Echols was convicted two years ago of making threats against
Monterey-Salinas Transit officials and employees. He spent two months
in jail and was ordered not to ride the bus or contact MST officials.
Echols told Villarreal on Thursday that the current charges against
him were trumped-up.
He said he had been given 72 hours to remove his vehicle from Fort Ord
and was in the process of taking the car away when he was cited by
Presidio police. He also said that he never exposed himself to
officers, but that his pants had ripped when he fell while officers
were trying to handcuff him.
Echols also said a judge had lifted the restraining order forbidding
him from boarding MST buses in January. He also insisted that he had
paid the proper fare for a trip to Castroville.
Deputy District Attorney Rolando Mazariegos told Villarreal his office
has no record of a judge lifting the restraining order.
Echols testified for five minutes, despite vigorous arguments by Brown
that anything Echols could say is likely to damage Echols' jury trial
on the charges later this month.
Brown told Villarreal that he would not question his client if he took
the witness stand. Villarreal eventually allowed Echols five minutes
of "narrative" testimony.
In his closing arguments, Mazariegos described Echols as a "danger" to
society, citing "the disregard Mr. Echols has shown this court and the
disregard he has for the laws of California. He has no respect for
anything but his own individual interests."
Villarreal said she would determine an "appropriate" sentence for the
probation violation when Echols next appears in court for a pre-trial
hearing Dec. 12.
Mazariegos said prosecutors are asking the judge to sentence Echols to
at least 180 days in jail for the probation violation.
=======================
Posted on Wed, Dec. 04, 2002
Author faces misdemeanor charges
By JOE LIVERNOIS
Monterey Herald
A Monterey author who considers himself a crusader against pedophilia
will be in court this week, answering to a misdemeanor charge of
indecent exposure.
Walter Harlan Echols II, better known as Mike Echols, is also facing
charges of trespassing and obstructing justice resulting from separate
episodes at Fort Ord and on a Monterey-Salinas Transit bus earlier
this year.
The indecent-exposure charge was filed after Presidio of Monterey
police officers reported that Echols had exposed himself to them while
he was being escorted off Fort Ord property, where he had been living
without authorization, according to authorities.
Police cited him on March 17 for allegedly obstructing an officer,
trespassing and indecent exposure.
Echols, 58, is the founder of a child advocacy group known as Better a
Millstone and is known for his book "I Know My First Name is Steven."
The book chronicles the ordeal of Steven Stayner, the Merced boy who
was kidnapped at age 7 and sexually abused for years until he managed
to escape. Echols promotes himself as an investigator of pedophilia
cases and a watchdog of police agencies.
In October, he was cited by Salinas police for interfering with
employees of a public agency and obstructing police officers after he
allegedly refused to leave a Monterey-Salinas Transit bus. Two years
ago, Echols was sentenced to six months in jail after a jury convicted
him of making terrorist threats against employees and administrators
of the transit system.
Echols missed a scheduled court appearance on the Fort Ord charges two
weeks ago and a judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest. Echols
was taken to jail when he showed up in court the following day on the
bus-related charges. He has been in custody since.
Echols is next scheduled in court Thursday for a hearing on
allegations that he violated terms of his probation after his
conviction in 2000.
The two newest cases have been consolidated and a trial is scheduled
to begin Monday.
Echols' attorney, David Brown, did not return telephone calls Tuesday.
Roger Keene of Virginia, a member of Echols' Better a Millstone group,
said he isn't up to speed on the details but suspects Echols may be
the target of harassment by Monterey County law enforcement officials.
He said he has been told that authorities are trying to keep Echols
from exposing information he has uncovered during his own
investigation into the suicide of a Carmel Valley teenager last year.
On the other hand, Keene said he is worried that Echols' activities in
Monterey County might be hurting the credibility of the organization.
"We're still trying to piece together what's going on there," he said.
"The members are willing to fight for him. But if this is penny-ante
stuff he's dealing with, he needs to suck it up and go on. If this is
just a bunch of stupid stuff, we can't have the founder of our
organization acting this way. I don't want the organization to hurt
from this."