A 60-year-old Orange County employee accused of threatening Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and a county executive is seeking to have the Orange County District Attorney’s Office recused from his case, according to court records obtained Thursday.
Danny Bruce Richards, who works as a senior civil engineer for the county, is charged with two felony counts of threatening public officials. The Costa Mesa resident is accused of threatening Spitzer and a supervisor in his department on July 14 through email, text and video, according to court papers.
The Orange County Public Defender’s Office filed a motion on Wednesday arguing that Spitzer’s office has a conflict of interest in the case, so it should be reassigned to the Attorney General’s Office for prosecution.
Richards was scheduled for a hearing on the motion Oct. 12 in the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 17 in the West Justice Center, in Westminster.