The man accused of threatening the lives of Boulder abortion doctor Warren Hern’s family is negotiating a plea deal with federal prosecutors, court records show.
Donald Hertz is expected to appear in U.S. District Court this afternoon for a hearing to suppress statements he made to the FBI about the threatening phone call that was made to Hern’s clinic.
Instead, Hertz’s attorney Dustin Deissner asked Judge Marcia S. Krieger to cancel today’s suppression hearing in light of the negotiations.
Krieger denied the request and told the attorney to conduct today’s hearing by telephone from his office in Spokane, Wash.
“Defendant believes that this matter will be settled,” Deissner’s motion says. “An offer has been made and Mr. Hertz has indicated today his willingness to accept the plea with minor modifications.”
Hertz, a 70-year-old retired real estate broker and insurance salesman, was indicted on two counts, making a telephone threat to Hern’s office on June 23 and violating the Free Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE.
Hertz is the first person indicted under the 1994 FACE ACT since Dr. George Tiller, also a late abortion provider, was murdered in Wichita on May 31.
Hern said the caller told his staff that there were two Vietnam veterans on the way from Spanish Fork, Utah, to Boulder to hurt Hern’s family.
Prosecutors have indicated they intended to use information from 1991 when Hertz was accused of threatening an attorney.
“Specifically, the government would show that the defendant threatened to assault the attorney unless he lowered his fee,” prosecutor Benjamin J. Hawk wrote in court records. “During its investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation interviewed the defendant and informed him of the laws against making threats.”
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
