High-flying landowner who said hed shoot beach trespassers finally snared as he blows up at judge
A Bay Area real estate investor has been arrested after allegedly spending more than six months dodging a warrant — before launching into a fiery confrontation with a judge during his first hearing.Luke “Lucky Luke” Brugnara was escorted from a federal courtroom last week after repeatedly interrupting US Magistrate Judge Lisa Cisneros, who ordered he remain behind bars while his case moves forward.The dramatic hearing came days after US Marshals arrested the 62-year-old at his home in San Francisco’s Sunset District.Prosecutors say Brugnara attempted to evade authorities by climbing on to the roof of a neighboring church.Brugnara vehemently disputed that account in court.“I never climbed on any church.
The church roof is eight stories tall.OK, how can I go eight stories when it’s a one-story house? It’s a lie,” he told the judge.He also insisted he had not known about the federal hearing that led to the warrant for his arrest.“I was not notified by my attorney,” Brugnara said.
“I’m legally required to notification by counsel of a court hearing to be held as a failure to appear.OK, I did not appear because I was not notified of the hearing.”The confrontation marked the latest twist in the legal troubles of the former high-flying San Francisco property developer whose name has now become synonymous with an increasingly bizarre fight over access to a Bay Area beach.Brugnara is facing federal allegations that he fraudulently obtained $422,000 through a pandemic-relief program by misrepresenting his company’s size, payroll and number of workers.
Prosecutors say he used the money to buy a house.After he failed to appear at a February hearing concerning his bond, a judge issued a warrant for his arrest.Prosecutors later argued that Brugnara knew about the warrant but did nothing to surrender.The allegations came into sharper focus after Brugnara became embroiled in a separate controversy at Thornton State Beach.As previously reported by The ...