Clerk Pleads No Contest in Removal of Drunk Driving Files

A former Van Nuys Municipal Court clerk pleaded no contest Friday to a felony charge in connection with a scheme in which records of about a dozen drunk driving arrests were removed from court files in exchange for between $1,000 and $2,250 each.

Under the plea arrangement, the prosecution will ask that Beryl Vinson, 25, be sentenced to no more than two years in prison. She was facing a three-year term for felony destruction of court records.

Arrested last February, Vinson was originally charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and destruction of records.

Sentencing was set for Feb. 27 in San Fernando Superior Court.

Also Friday, a bench warrant was issued for Vinson’s husband, Richard, 25, who faces similar charges but failed to appear in court.

Another defendant in the case, Michael Charette, of Sepulveda, pleaded guilty Oct. 8 to misdemeanor possession of court documents and is currently on probation.

Warrants have been issued for two other defendants, Iona Goodleaf and Thomas Horn, who have fled to Canada, said Dist. Atty. Herbert Lapin.