Thursday, July 15, 2010
Page 3
Lawyer Pleads No Contest to Dissuading Witness
By a MetNews Staff Writer
A Sherman Oaks attorney entered a plea of no contest to dissuading a witness yesterday, the District Attorney’s Office reported.
Sean Erenstoft, 42, entered the plea to one felony count and faces sentencing Sept. 15 before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Wesley. Prosecutors said Erenstoft faces mandatory disbarment and is expected to be sentenced to three years of formal probation and 100 hours of community service, in addition to having to pay more than $9,000 in restitution.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Nunez of he Justice System Integrity Division handled the case. He said the attorney, while representing a defendant charged with stalking, filed a civil case against the victim in order to dissuade her from testifying against his client at a preliminary hearing, then offered to drop that suit in exchange for favorable testimony at his client’s sentencing.
Erenstoft was indicted in January.
Copyright 2010, Metropolitan News Company