Laguna Beach : Two Men Plead Guilty in City Hall Bombing

Two transients accused of planting a bomb that damaged an unoccupied City Hall office changed their pleas to guilty just as their case was going to trial, according to a deputy district attorney.

Donald Juan Wheeler, 23, and James Louis Durand, 27, accused of causing a Jan. 17 explosion that sent glass shards through an office next to the city manager’s, entered their pleas Monday on the first day of trial before Superior Court Judge James R. Franks II.

The dynamite bomb was reportedly set because of alleged harassment of the city’s “street people” by police. After they were arrested, both men listed a shelter for the homeless at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Laguna Beach as their address.

City Hall offices were empty when the bomb exploded at 6 a.m. Several windows were broken, causing $1,000 in damage.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregg Prickett said the men may have changed their pleas because of the overwhelming evidence against them, including confessions allegedly made to police.

Wheeler, who was charged with possession of a destructive device and exploding a destructive device with intent to injure property, was sentenced to two years in state prison.

Durand, who was charged with being an accessory, also admitted to a prior felony conviction and was sentenced to six months in Orange County Jail and three years’ probation.