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Title: Acton man who built sprawling 'Phonehenge West' compound is ordered jailed
Source:
dailynews.com
URL Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18441063
Published: Jul 10, 2011
Author: staff
Post Date: 2011-07-10 11:44:54 by Ferret
Keywords: None
Views: 418
Comments: 27
LANCASTER - A 59-year-old Acton man who was convicted last month of a dozen misdemeanor counts for building a sprawling compound he dubbed "Phonehenge West" today was ordered taken into custody. Superior Court Judge Daviann Mitchell ordered Alan Kimble Fahey to be remanded in lieu of $75,000 bail pending his sentencing, which was postponed to July 22. The judge determined that Fahey had failed to comply with the conditions for his release on his own recognizance, which included removing people from unpermitted structures and turning off the power, Jane Robison of the District Attorney's Office said. Fahey was convicted last month of 12 misdemeanor charges, including 10 counts of maintaining unpermitted structures and one count each of failing to stop construction after getting a written stop-work order and unlawfully installing electrical wiring. Jurors deadlocked on three other counts. Prosecutors argued that Fahey was ignoring Los Angeles County codes at his 20,000-square-foot compound, feeling he was above the law. But Fahey's attorney, Jerry Lennon, argued that Fahey had created a unique compound and the county should show some flexibility. "He's not hurting anyone, and I don't think there's a mechanical or structural problem he can't resolve," Lennon told the Los Angeles Times. Deputy District Attorney Patrick David Campbell argued, however, that Fahey's property was inherently unsafe.
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 5.
#1. To: Ferret (#0)
If this had been built in 1889 it would have been declared a "historic site" by now and the state would have spent millions of $$$ to preserve it and make it safe for eleventy-billion tourists to be herded through and tacky souvenir shops would dot the property. As for Alan Kimble Fahey: he would have been declared (posthumously, of course) a "talented genius for his time" and school- children would be given lessons detailing his eccentricity that stand as an example of the classical, stereotypical "rugged individual" that made this nation great.
I agree. Case in point: Simon Rodia's Watts Towers, Los Angeles. Not sure if Mr. Fahey measures up to a Rodia-like standard (of socially acceptable/historically significant "eccentricity," such as Rodia), but I certainly wouldn't jail the poor guy for exploring his vision. What is wrong with this country?
When America ceases to be good, she will cease to be great - de Tocqueville
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#4. To: X-15, Lod (#1)
#5. To: Ferret, X-15, 4 (#4)
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