Probation

A former physician at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center faces five years of probation after the state medical board found that he was negligent in caring for four pregnant patients, and that he falsified documents. The Medical Board of California issued its ruling on Nov. 10 for Dr. Eldridge Pearsall, who left the Burbank hospital in 2008 and currently works at Clinica Sierra Vista in Fresno. According to court documents, hospital workers were unable to reach Pearsall on four occasions, or he was busy with patients at other hospitals and could not reach the Burbank location in a timely manner.

GLENDALE ? A 22-year-old Glendale woman was sentenced to six months in a halfway house and community service Monday for posing as an American Red Cross volunteer and pocketing money under the guise of helping Hurricane Katrina victims, wire reports said. U.S. District Court Judge George King sentenced Gina Liz Nicholas to a term in the halfway house, after which she will remain on probation for 30 months, pay a $1,000 fine and get psychological therapy, reports said. She will perform 20 hours of community service every week, the judge ordered.

CITY CENTER – A judge Tuesday denied a motion to terminate the final 11 months of unsupervised probation for deposed Police Commissioner John Brady, despite glowing letters from city leaders and arguments that he’d suffered enough punishment. Brady, a well-known civil rights activist and president of the Burbank Human Relations Council, was stripped of his Police Commission membership last month over revelation that he is on unsupervised probation through June 2010 for a drunk-driving offense.

CITY HALL — Newly appointed Police Commissioner John Brady was stripped of his membership Tuesday, ending a monthlong saga that saw all seven commissioners submit to background checks amid revelations that he is serving probation for drunk driving. The City Council voted 4 to 1 to remove Brady after City Atty. Dennis Barlow last month disclosed that the well-known civil rights activist and president of the Burbank Human Relations Council is on unsupervised probation through June 2010.

One of two Burbank siblings charged with felony animal cruelty in the fatal stabbing of a family member's dog is scheduled to face a jury trial this summer. The trial for Charissa Bodtcher, 23, is slated to be scheduled sometime in July after she appeared in Los Angeles County Superior Court this week for a pretrial hearing, a court clerk said. She faces one felony count of animal cruelty or neglect. Her brother, Timo Bodtcher, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges last month and is on probation, the clerk added.

Jenna Bordelon BURBANK -- A former Burbank city employee and convicted felon found himself behind bars for the second time in two weeks. Charles Ross Burke, 54, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Burbank Superior Court to one count of being felon in possession of a firearm. He allegedly had seven guns in his home in the 700 block of Country Club Drive. Burbank police officers said Burke's son, whose name was not released, told them he had given back to his father several guns Burke had asked him to keep while he was on probation.

Here's one the California Supreme Court got right in December (and frankly I admire the court's willingness to change its mind): In 1994 the State Supreme Court ruled that if a juvenile is searched via a search that would otherwise be illegal, the search would be permissible if, after the search, the police were to discover that the juvenile was on probation. This made no sense in 1994 and fortunately in 2006, the State Supreme Court decided to do something about its previous erroneous decision.

Tim Willert PASADENA -- A pediatrician who strangled his pregnant lover before pushing her car off a cliff was sentenced Thursday to 20 years to life for his crime, despite a plea from his attorney for probation. Kevin Paul Anderson, 42, looked straight ahead as Judge Teri Schwartz sentenced him for the November 1999 murder of Dr. Deepti Gupta, a 34-year-old Glendale resident and fellow pediatrician who was carrying Anderson's child. Schwartz added five years to the sentence because of a special-circumstance charge that the victim was pregnant.

Laura Sturza A former Warner Bros. security guard suspected in the theft of a Batman suit will spend nine months in jail for his role in the theft of four custom-made Spider-Man costumes, officials said. Burbank resident Jeffrey Glenn Gustafson, 36, pleaded no contest Monday to one felony count of receiving stolen property in connection with the theft of the Spider-Man suits from Sony Studios in Culver City. Authorities could not prove Gustafson stole a Batman suit from the Warner Bros.

Alex Leon BURBANK HIGH -- In 12 years as a Los Angeles County Probation Officer, Ransom Eaves has come into contact with various types of people. Among the individuals are juveniles with stories that almost bring him to tears, and adults who can't stay on the right side of the law. A good-natured man with an engaging smile, the 38-year-old former college basketball standout at Seton Hall University in New Jersey might seem an unlikely person to be helping offenders stay on the straight and narrow.

One of two Burbank siblings charged with felony animal cruelty in the fatal stabbing of a family member's dog is scheduled to face a jury trial this summer. The trial for Charissa Bodtcher, 23, is slated to be scheduled sometime in July after she appeared in Los Angeles County Superior Court this week for a pretrial hearing, a court clerk said. She faces one felony count of animal cruelty or neglect. Her brother, Timo Bodtcher, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges last month and is on probation, the clerk added.

A former physician at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center faces five years of probation after the state medical board found that he was negligent in caring for four pregnant patients, and that he falsified documents. The Medical Board of California issued its ruling on Nov. 10 for Dr. Eldridge Pearsall, who left the Burbank hospital in 2008 and currently works at Clinica Sierra Vista in Fresno. According to court documents, hospital workers were unable to reach Pearsall on four occasions, or he was busy with patients at other hospitals and could not reach the Burbank location in a timely manner.

CITY CENTER – A judge Tuesday denied a motion to terminate the final 11 months of unsupervised probation for deposed Police Commissioner John Brady, despite glowing letters from city leaders and arguments that he’d suffered enough punishment. Brady, a well-known civil rights activist and president of the Burbank Human Relations Council, was stripped of his Police Commission membership last month over revelation that he is on unsupervised probation through June 2010 for a drunk-driving offense.

CITY HALL — Newly appointed Police Commissioner John Brady was stripped of his membership Tuesday, ending a monthlong saga that saw all seven commissioners submit to background checks amid revelations that he is serving probation for drunk driving. The City Council voted 4 to 1 to remove Brady after City Atty. Dennis Barlow last month disclosed that the well-known civil rights activist and president of the Burbank Human Relations Council is on unsupervised probation through June 2010.

CITY HALL ? Seven police commissioners, two of them newly sworn-in, will undergo background checks amid revelations from the city attorney that one of the appointees is serving probation for drunk driving. City Council members on Tuesday directed city officials to conduct the review after City Atty. Dennis Barlow informed them that newly confirmed Police Commissioner John Brady, a well-known civil rights activist and chairman of the regional Human Relations Council, was found to have a criminal record, according to a review of Los Angeles Superior Court documents.

Here's one the California Supreme Court got right in December (and frankly I admire the court's willingness to change its mind): In 1994 the State Supreme Court ruled that if a juvenile is searched via a search that would otherwise be illegal, the search would be permissible if, after the search, the police were to discover that the juvenile was on probation. This made no sense in 1994 and fortunately in 2006, the State Supreme Court decided to do something about its previous erroneous decision.

GLENDALE ? A 22-year-old Glendale woman was sentenced to six months in a halfway house and community service Monday for posing as an American Red Cross volunteer and pocketing money under the guise of helping Hurricane Katrina victims, wire reports said. U.S. District Court Judge George King sentenced Gina Liz Nicholas to a term in the halfway house, after which she will remain on probation for 30 months, pay a $1,000 fine and get psychological therapy, reports said. She will perform 20 hours of community service every week, the judge ordered.

Mark R. Madler The son of the city's vice mayor was sentenced this week to three years probation for pleading guilty to a felony drug charge. Kyle Vander Borght, 20, must also serve 200 hours of community service for Caltrans getting rid of graffiti and pay a $200 fine. Vander Borght and co-defen- dant Gregory Dominguez, of Simi Valley, pleaded guilty in October to transportation of marijuana stemming from an incident in May in which they were found with the drug outside a toy store.

Laura Sturza A former Warner Bros. security guard suspected in the theft of a Batman suit will spend nine months in jail for his role in the theft of four custom-made Spider-Man costumes, officials said. Burbank resident Jeffrey Glenn Gustafson, 36, pleaded no contest Monday to one felony count of receiving stolen property in connection with the theft of the Spider-Man suits from Sony Studios in Culver City. Authorities could not prove Gustafson stole a Batman suit from the Warner Bros.

Amber Willard A judge has put Pamela Miller on a short leash. Miller, who was convicted of animal cruelty after Burbank Police officers found almost 90 dogs inside a home she was using, was sentenced Monday to three years' probation and counseling, as well as being ordered to have no more than three dogs at a time and to submit to police searches. The Pasadena judge also ordered Miller to pay restitution to the city for the costs it incurred while caring for the dogs, most of which have been adopted through the Burbank Animal Shelter.