(March 22) A Yucca Valley man has lodged an official protest with the sheriff’s department, the district attorney’s office and Yucca Valley town officials over what he says is the failure by officials to take action against a woman he says sought to run him down while he was walking along a dirt road last December.
Fritz Koenig, who lives on Hoot Owl Trail in Yucca Valley, said he was nearly run over by Beverlee Larrson on December 14 after Larsson purposefully angled her vehicle at him in an effort to have him leave the area.
Koenig lives roughly a quarter of a mile from Larsson, who resides on Grand Ave. Koenig reported that he had grown concerned over  a series of burglaries that had occurred in the rustic residential area in which he lives, known as Boulder Ridge, in late November and early December. His interaction with the sheriff’s department in reporting those burglaries resulted in an indication that investigators would need more information to pursue the case.
On December 14, Koenig said, he was attempting to trace visible footprints along Hoot Owl Trail, Tish TriBrock Road, Plaza Del Amigo Road and Grand Avenue when his activity triggered the barking of dogs at the Larsson residence, located in the 6000 block of Grand Avenue.
According to a police report by sheriff’s deputy Adrian Garcia, Koenig, who was still in the roadway on Grand Avenue, and Larsson’s husband, who was on his property, were engaged in a conversation about the recent burglaries and Koenig’s tracing of foot impressions he believed might be those of those responsible for the burglary when Beverlee Larsson emerged from her residence.
While Koenig was yet engaged in conversation with Mr. Larsson, Beverlee Larsson told Koenig that he should leave and that he was trespassing on her property. She then got into her car and backed it out onto Grand Avenue, and then continued to back the car toward Koenig.
Garcia’s report states that “She backed up onto the road from her driveway and stopped approximately 40 feet from him. Koenig said that Beverlee Larsson spun her tires in an attempt to intimidate him and scare him. She then backed toward him and got a little bit closer while spinning her tires. Larsson never struck him with her vehicle, however. Koenig felt  she was trying to hit him and that is why she kept backing up. Koenig said that behind him was a large dirt berm in  which he had to get onto, to get off the roadway and out of her path.”
Garcia said he spoke with Beverlee Larsson and she told him that when she saw Koenig speaking with her husband, she told him to leave and that he was on their property
When Koenig did not leave, Garcia’s  report continues, “Beverlee said she got into her vehicle and her whole intention was to drive by Koenig on the roadway and create dust. Beverlee said because this is a dirt road, she is able to create dust and that is all she wanted to do. Beverlee did admit to backing up out of her driveway and spinning her tires. She remembers spinning her tires about twice. I asked Beverlee   how far away she was when she backed up toward Koenig. Beverlee showed me the distance pointing to a tree on her property and a wooden deck. I saw this distance was approximately 10 to 15 feet.”
In his report, Garcia indicated that Koenig was able to show him “possible foot impressions along Hoot Owl Trail in which he was tracking.  He pointed out various shoe impressions within the sand and showed me different areas where he had found them.”
After Garcia’s report was forwarded to the district attorney’s office, Simon R. Umscheid, the supervising deputy district attorney in Joshua Tree, declined to file charges against Beverlee Larsson.
In response, Koenig has sent letters to numerous public officials, including newly-elected Yucca Valley Councilman Bob Leone, who is also a former New York City and Los Angeles police officer; former Yucca Valley councilwoman Lori Herbel, Rae Packard, the president of the Morongo Basin Property Association; and Dr. Curt Duffy, a local officer in the Morongo Basin Democratic Club.
In that letter, Koenig cites jury instructions provided in assault cases which state that a jury should determine an assault occurred if “the defendant did not act in self-defense or in defense of someone else… with a deadly weapon other than a firearm that by its nature would directly and probably result in the application of force to a person” and that the defendant acted “willfully” and “was aware of facts that would lead a reasonable person to realize that his/her act by its nature would directly and probably result in the application of force to someone.”
Koenig further referenced jury instructions that state “The People are not required to prove that the defendant actually touched someone” and that “No one needs to actually have been injured by defendant’s act.”
In his letter, Koenig asserts that “Spinning car tires out while pointing that car at a person is an act  which ‘by its nature would directly and probably result in the application of force to a person.’  Once the momentum is started, the applications of force to a person is probable.  Clearly our local DA has not properly applied the law of assault to the facts of Beverlee Larsson’s actions against me with a deadly weapon.”
In his report, Garcia said Beverlee Larsson “said she has ongoing civil issues with Koenig.”
Beyond confirming that it has not filed charges against Beverlee Larsson, the district attorney’s office had no comment on the matter.