Hearing set for clown's motion to withdraw from plea bargain
A man who performed as Trim-Trim the clown will get a hearing on his attempt to withdraw from a plea bargain with prosecutors in a molestation case.
Trim-Trim, who is 51-year-old David Albert Lemus, appeared briefly before Judge Stephan Saleson on Thursday as a lawyer assigned to review the defendant's plea bargain announced that he would proceed with the motion in Fontana Superior Court.
Lemus will return to court Nov. 21 for the hearing to withdraw from his plea bargain. If the judge denies the motion, the defendant could be sentenced.
At the hearing, the defendant will have to show legal cause as to why he should be allowed to withdraw and go to trial. Lawyers in the case previously said "buyer's remorse" is not a sufficient reason to withdraw from a plea bargain.
Lemus, who has performed at birthday parties and other events throughout Southern California for more than a decade, agreed to plead guilty to child-molestation charges under the terms of a plea bargain on Sept. 5.
The defendant pleaded guilty to felony charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child and oral copulation by threat, according to court records. He faces 12 years in state prison, under the agreement, at sentencing.
Lemus was arrested in 2005 after two girls between the ages of 12 and 14 told police the defendant molested them at the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino. Fontana police later said Lemus had molested the two girls before the incident at the show grounds.
Leave a comment