Charge Reduced, Transient Who Stole Bologna Freed

The man who faced up to three years in prison for stealing a $1.49 package of bologna walked out of court a free man Friday after Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner ordered the felony charge against him reduced to a misdemeanor.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Joyce Kennard sentenced Leonard James Hazlett to two years’ probation after Hazlett pleaded guilty to taking the luncheon meat on June 13 from Phil’s Market in Sylmar because he was hungry. Hazlett, a transient who was living on the street when he was arrested, had been in jail for 27 days when he was released Friday.

Hazlett initially was prosecuted as a felon because he had at least three previous convictions for petty theft. Under California law, deputy district attorneys have the option of treating petty theft cases as felonies or misdemeanors.

Under a policy Reiner outlined Wednesday in response to Hazlett’s case, prosecutors may not file felony charges against a person accused of stealing small amounts of food.

Calling the decision to prosecute Hazlett as a felon “a mistake in judgment,” Reiner ordered the charge reduced to a misdemeanor.

Hazlett’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Gerald T. Richardson, said he was pleased with the outcome of the case and understood what impelled the prosecutors to file felony charges.

“A lot of people in this building are overworked, and filing this case as a felony was just an automatic response,” Richardson said. “They just didn’t take the time to look at the human side of it.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Myron L. Jenkins, who had asked that sentencing be delayed until a probation report could be prepared, declined to comment on the case after the sentencing.

Hazlett, whose father met him outside the courthouse, said he plans to look for a job as an aircraft worker, a trade he learned in school. His father, Dan Hazlett of Lake View Terrace, said his son could stay with him for a while if he stays off drugs.

In a jail interview Tuesday, Hazlett said stealing became a way of life soon after he graduated from high school and became addicted to heroin and later alcohol and cocaine. He has served time in County Jail for petty thefts of items ranging from a case of cigarettes to a pair of pants.