Widow’s Alleged Harasser Will Undergo Treatment

A man accused of harassing the widow of a Neighborhood Watch captain whose husband was slain in a confrontation with a neighbor agreed Thursday to undergo eight weeks of intensive psychiatric treatment.

Edward Richard Haskins Jr., 38, of Newhall admitted making telephone calls to Kathy Brown, but claimed he was trying to persuade her to collaborate on a book about the incident.

Brown’s husband, Keith, was shot repeatedly in July on their street in Winnetka after becoming involved in a dispute with a neighbor.

Authorities alleged that Haskins violated probation on an earlier assault conviction when he annoyed Kathy Brown by telephone. Haskins was described as a military veteran who was under psychiatric treatment.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert B. Foltz said Haskins telephoned Brown after seeing her on a television talk show.

According to the prosecutor, Haskins said he contacted the widow because he wanted to write a book about the slaying, but she was terrified because she thought the caller was a friend of the man accused of shooting her husband.

“It has a cruel aspect to it--calling a woman whose husband has just been [killed],” Foltz said.

In an interview, Kathy Brown said she considered Haskins’ calls to be death threats because Haskins kept “threatening to come over here,” she said.

“I think he probably should be handled more harshly,” she said of the court session Thursday. But Brown also said she doesn’t have the energy to worry about it.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Shari Kreisler Silver postponed the case until Oct. 31 to allow Haskins to complete an intensive psychiatric treatment program at the Veterans Administration facility in North Hills.

In court, authorities said Haskins has a history of mental instability.

Haskins has been on probation since February after being found guilty on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. In that case, Haskins intentionally rammed into a sheriff’s transportation vehicle on the freeway, Los Angeles Police Detective Rick Swanston said.

As a condition of probation, Haskins agreed to obtain psychiatric treatment and take all prescribed medications.

“You were given a very favorable disposition in your case,” Silver said. “The bottom line is you’ve got to get your act together. You are walking on thin ice.”

Keith Brown, 42, was shot after a heated encounter with Scott James Craft, 33, a neighbor with a reputation for provoking confrontations and yelling at children who stepped on his grass.

Craft is in custody awaiting a preliminary hearing on a first-degree murder charge. Craft’s claim that he fired in self-defense has been rejected by police.