MOORPARK : Union Members Plead Guilty in Beatings

Six union pickets pleaded guilty in Las Vegas on Tuesday to the videotaped beating of a Moorpark couple outside Las Vegas’ Frontier Hotel in April.

In a plea-bargain, the six pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in exchange for having felony charges against them dropped, said Clarke County Deputy Dist. Atty. Ulrich Smith.

A seventh picket--Dennis Ray James--did not show up for the scheduled arraignment. He has one more week to turn himself in, Smith said.

Of the six who appeared Tuesday, picket-line captain Lonnie Jay Wilkes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to disturb the peace and Gregory Allen Jones to conspiracy to commit battery.

Both men face up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine when they are sentenced July 27, Smith said.

Debra Ann Pollard and Alfie Beatrice Murray pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery, while Sanford Lee Davis and Johnny Ray Perry pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace.

Each of the four was sentenced Tuesday to 40 hours of community service and a $500 fine, Smith said.

The verdicts stemmed from the April 25 beating of Moorpark residents Sean and Gail White as they left the Frontier Hotel, which the Culinary Union Local 226 has been striking since September.

Sean White suffered a shattered left cheekbone and a facial cut that required stitches, along with bumps and bruises. Gail White sustained bumps and bruises on her face and body.