Claude Douglas Yarbrough, whose stage name is Jonathan Pendragon, pleaded no contest Tuesday to two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon for the July 8 shooting.
The 55-year-old magician will be sentenced to a year in jail April 13.
Yarbrough’s no-contest plea also results in two strikes being added to his record, and he could also face up to five years of probation, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
A no-contest plea is similar to a guilty plea in felony cases, although it is not an admission of guilt.
Yarbrough’s attorney, Ilan Funke-Bilu, said he didn’t know exactly why his client chose to change his plea and not proceed with a trial, but he assumed it had something to do with Yarbrough’s feelings for his wife.
She (Charlotte) was present in court Tuesday, when her husband of 33 years apologized to her for any harm he may have caused her.
Funke-Bilu said he has never had a client apologize to the victim at the time of a plea, which he believes shows Yarbrough is remorseful.
“It was something that he wanted to say,” Funke-Bilu said, adding the request by his client caught him off-guard. “It wasn’t something that I told him to say.”
I just got notified about a video that was posted after my commentary to his comments. I thought it was funny. I was told by a friend: Your part starts at about 01:01:40 in, right after he smokes a bunch of weed and talks about getting a rimjob from a hooker in a massage parlor. Original comments posted at http://tommee.net/His%20Blog/2010/01/confrontation-squeakquel.html
Best quote: Douchier the name, Douchier the magician.
I got food poisoning Thursday from Pizza Hut. It wasn't on the online menu but they gave it to me anyway. I threw up 12-15 times in a 24 hour period and my gut feels like I was punched by someone large.
Even though I haven't blogged in a while, I have been busy.
The rain put a damper on the beginning of the week but I did get out of the house. Sunday I went to the Project Dynamite house for a surprise party for Alex and David. Erik, Val, Cnelson and Eliot showed up but since the weather was cold there wasn't much juggling or outdoor stuff.
Wednesday, I went to the Magic Castle to catch Dan and Dave Buck doing an interview/demo. Dan tried to show the hacky sack cut that made David Williamson throw down his cards and walk away. They are pretty cool guys and had a Paul Harris type of attitude toward magic. Only performing magic when asked and not really performing for large groups. At the end we got a deck of cards that they are producing based on the Erdnase book and cards used.
Outside the Castle I got to chat with Dave Buck and asked him about Magic Con. Apparently there is only about 300 attendees going to Magic-Con in March which should be awesome. After seeing over 1500 people at Magic Live, it will be nice to see a smaller group of magicians at the bar.
Tomorrow night I am going to go see the Bar Show at Magicopolis. Apparently there is supposed to be a ventriloquist that makes his dummy have sex or something like that. I asked Erik if he saw the act yet and he said no. Plausible deniability.
Sunday I am performing at the Old Town Pub in Pasadena. I don't know the exact schedule yet but as my friends know, if there is a chance of doing magic, I always do some magic. The people who are all participating in this event are all great also. The last time we met, I did magic for the live painters and they responded awesomely.
Next weekend, we are headed to Washington D.C. for Shmoocon. Unfortunately I won't see my friend (I call "One-Ear'ed Rob") Rob. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be able to go to Shmoocon. I will be flying out on Thursday night and arriving Friday Morning.
So it seems like there is stuff on the horizon and I hope to meet up with friends soon, now that the puking has stopped.
Wow, when I think the world gets a little boring I see...
Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who just won Ukraine's version of "America's Got Talent." She uses a giant light box, dramatic music, imagination and "sand painting" skills to interpret Germany's invasion and occupation of Ukraine during WWII.
Wednesday, I went to the Magic Castle to catch Dan and Dave Buck doing an interview/demo. Dan tried to show the hacky sack cut that made David Williamson throw down his cards and walk away. They are pretty cool guys and had a Paul Harris type of attitude toward magic. Only performing magic when asked and not really performing for large groups. At the end we got a deck of cards that they are producing based on the Erdnase book and cards used.
