Southern California Criminal Lawyer Blog
Recently, James Bascue, a retired judge who left the LA Superior Court bench eight years ago, was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer following a standoff in the Sawtelle community, according to a news article at the Daily News.
Los Angeles Police Dept. spokeswoman Officer Liliana Preciado said Bascue was being held on $100,000 bail at the time of reports. Police were called by the judge, who is now 75 years old, on Thursday to a townhouse located in the 1900 block of South Barrington Avenue; Bascue claimed he was a hostage at the townhouse, where police found him sitting on a couch armed with two guns upon looking through a window of the home. When police attempted to make contact with Bascue, he allegedly began loading a gun and magazines, firing a shot toward officers through the window, as well as a shot inside the home. Preciado confirmed that no one was hurt during the incident.
SWAT officers were called to the scene, however Bascue eventually walked out of the townhouse after calling a neighbor, who convinced him to come out. No others were inside the townhouse and no other suspects found.