LOS ANGELES : Judge Reduces Bail $50,000 for Denny Case Defendant

A judge reduced bail for a man accused of shooting at truck driver Reginald O. Denny during the riots, but refused to let a Mississippi civil rights attorney represent the man.

Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan lowered bail to $100,000 from $150,000 for Lance Jerome Parker, 26, charged with assault with a firearm, attempted arson and shooting at an occupied vehicle. Parker remained in custody, officials said.

Prosecutors contend that Parker rode his motorcycle into a South-Central Los Angeles intersection shortly after Denny was beaten April 29, pulled out a shotgun and fired toward Denny. None of the shots struck Denny. Prosecutors also contend that Parker shot at pumps at a gas station.

Tynan scheduled a Jan. 15 pretrial hearing. But that could be delayed if Parker’s defense attorney, La’Chelle Woodert, appeals Tynan’s decision preventing Mississippi attorney Chokwe Lumumba from taking the case. Lumumba handled Parker’s preliminary hearing in Municipal Court. Because he is not a member of the California State Bar, he needed the judge’s approval to handle the case in Superior Court.