Land Owner Gets Jail Term for Illegal Grading

A Malibu man received the maximum sentence of 18 months in jail Thursday after being convicted of illegal grading on his property in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Malibu Municipal Court Judge Lawrence J. Mira also fined John Downs nearly $7,000 for violating two misdemeanor counts of state fish and game laws. Downs was charged with using a bulldozer to dump tons of soil and other debris, including asphalt, into Los Flores Creek. Downs, 62, will appeal, his attorney said.

The conviction was the first by a state and local government task force established last year to enforce environmental laws in the Santa Monica Mountains. Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner said the sentence puts violators on notice that “we mean business.”