Malibu City Councilman Skylar Peak pleaded not guilty on April 3 to three misdemeanor counts stemming from an alleged Christmas Day hit-and-run crash, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court spokesperson.
In an interview Tuesday with The Malibu Times, Peak indicated a plea deal between his attorney and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office was a possibility.
“I think that they’re trying to work something out, but it’s up in the air,” Peak said.
Peak is charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run, reckless driving and vandalism after allegedly running over more than 400 feet of road delineators on Pacific Coast Highway near Zuma Beach with his pickup truck on Dec. 25 of last year. The truck was later found abandoned near Westward Beach.
Attorney Michael Shultz entered the not guilty plea on behalf of Peak, who was not present at Wednesday’s arraignment at the Malibu Courthouse. In an interview with The Malibu Times on Tuesday, Peak said he entered the not guilty plea at the advice of his attorney. Shultz told The Malibu Times last week he has known the Peak family for “many years” and began representing the councilman in mid-March. He took over the case for attorney Michael Schwimer, who had previously represented Peak.
A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Wed., April 24. Peak has yet to determine whether he’ll attend.
“If I need to be there I will be,” he said.
The DA’s complaint claims Peak “unlawfully [drove] a vehicle upon a highway in willful and wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.” He also, according to the complaint, “unlawfully and maliciously [damaged] and [destroyed] real and personal property” when he allegedly drove over more than 400 feet of Caltrans road barriers known as “Quick Kurb.”
The complaint states that he caused more than $400 in damage.
According to L.A. County Sheriff ’s investigators, deputies responding to the scene at 7:30 a.m. on Christmas found Peak’s white GMC Duramax truck with front-end damage and leaking fluids partially blocking the roadway near the intersection of Westward Beach Road and Zuma Bay Way. In January, Peak called the crash an accident and said he had intended to return for the pickup truck.
The charges came several months after the DA’s office declined to press charges in an assault investigation involving the freshman councilmember.
In July 2012, Point Dume Village security guards alleged Peak ran through the shopping center parking lot in a Speedo swimsuit and threatened them with a scissor blade after they confronted him for yelling and tossing chairs in the shopping center’s patio area. He was taken into police custody that evening and spent five days at a county hospital while undergoing an involuntary 72-hour psychological evaluation following the incident.
Peak revealed in a subsequent interview with The Malibu Times that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was taking medication to treat the illness. Following the Dec. 25 incident at Westward Beach, Peak told The Malibu Times he had stopped taking medication in favor of an exercise regimen.
The ongoing investigation following the July 2012 incident was cited as the reason when the Malibu City Council voted 3-2 last August to appoint Joan House as mayor pro tem instead of Peak, despite the position traditionally rotating to the person who had won more votes in the previous election. Peak received more than 1,400 votes in April while House received 1,067 votes. Mayor Lou La Monte and Councilwoman Laura Rosenthal cited concerns surrounding the Point Dume allegations and argued that he needed more time to deal with personal matters and learn to serve on the council.
In September, prosecutors cited insufficient evidence and opted not to press assault charges against Peak for the July incident at the Village.