"Devils Professor" defendants plead not guilty

Kinzey also appeared in court Friday for a status hearing. His lawyer, James Glick, said he received more discovery, or evidence, from prosecutors.

"Just about every time I see the D.A. I get more," Glick said, after the proceedings. He described Kinzey as depressed and on paid leave from CSUSB, though his client has a support group of family, friends and students.

"He's trying to live a normal life as much as possible," Glick said. Kinzey is out of custody in lieu of a bail bond, as are Disney, Robinson and Preszler.

Lawyer Ann Cunningham quickly ushered Disney out of court after the arraignment. She declined to discuss the allegations against her client.

"I have nothing I need to talk about," Cunningham said, as she walked down a courtroom hallway.

Preszler told the court he is trying to hire his own attorney, and the court assigned lawyer John Paul Serrao to temporarily defend him Friday. Serrao had no comment after the proceedings.

Kinzey, Disney, Robinson and Preszler return to court Jan. 20.

Prosecutors allege Disney supplied meth to Kinzey, whose drug ring sold it in San Bernardino, Highland, Redlands and Mentone. Eleven defendants were charged in the case, and five have already taken plea bargains.

Deputy District Attorney Steve Sanchez said he dropped a motion Friday which would requested the court review the bail of the more serious defendants in the case. With them all out of custody, they can stay on the same schedule, he said.

"I didn't ask for my bail motion because Disney and Holly were already out (of custody)," Sanchez said later. "Basically, I wanted to keep them all in the same situation."

Defendants Edward Freer and Chris Rikerd also appeared Friday in San Bernardino Superior Court, but their case was continued to Nov. 21, Sanchez said.

While Glick said the Devils Diciples is just a club of people who ride motorcycles and donate to charities, Sanchez said Devils Diciples is a gang that commits crimes and has a criminal history.

"By selling drugs, (Kinzey) is furthering the reputation of the gang as a criminal enterprise," Sanchez said.

The San Bernardino Mountains Chapter has six members, and the club has 150 members nationwide, authorities say.

Authorities began investigating the group earlier this year during a federal undercover operation involving outlaw biker clubs in the county.

Detectives allege Kinzey, of Highland, purchased large amounts of meth from Disney and then distributed ounce quantities to other defendants who split it up into smaller amounts for mid-level and street-level dealers, said sheriff's Detective Jason Rosenbaum.

Authorities raided Kinzey's East Highlands Ranch home on Aug. 26 and intercepted a pound of meth that was being delivered.

Reach Mike via email at mike.cruz@inlandnewspapers.com, find him on Twitter @sbcourts