Attorney Convicted of Illegally Breaking Into Foreclosed Newport Beach Home

A San Diego attorney was convicted today of helping his client break into his foreclosed Newport Coast home, the Orange County district attorney's office reported.

In less than one hour of deliberations, jurors found Michael Theodore Pines, 59, guilty of one misdemeanor count each of vandalism, attempted second degree burglary, the attempted unauthorized entry of a dwelling, and obstructing an officer. Pines is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 14 and faces a sentence ranging from probation up to three years in jail and up to $10,000 in fines. After the verdicts, Orange County Superior Court Judge Andre Manssourian had deputies take Pines into custody.

"He was not surprised at their verdicts, but I think he was surprised the judge remanded him," Deputy District Attorney Pete Pierce said.

Co-defendant and former homeowner Rene Hector Zepeda, 72, pleaded no contest Monday to one misdemeanor count of trespassing. Zepeda was ordered to pay $435 in restitution and testified at Pines’ trial, according to prosecutors.

Zepeda owned a Newport Coast home at 19 Coral Cay until July 2009, when he lost it to foreclosure. In 2010, he hired Pines as his attorney.

Instead of trying to fight the foreclosure in court, Pines told Zepeda it was illegal and advised him to break in and repossess the home, prosecutors said. Pines alerted reporters and a real estate agent hired by the bank as a trustee that he and Zepeda would try to break into the home Oct. 13, 2010, according to prosecutors.

The real estate agent called Newport Beach police.

On the morning of Oct. 13, 2010, Pines is accused of driving with Zepeda and a locksmith to the Newport Beach home with
the intention of breaking into the house. At the site, police advised the men they could be arrested if they illegally entered the property, which was now owned by the bank.

In front of the officers, Pines allegedly instructed Zepeda to ignore the officers’ warning and break in. Zepeda and Pines then allegedly broke a window to gain entrance to the house. They were arrested, cited, and released.

In June, Pines' law license was suspended. In his ruling, the state bar court judge said Pines viewed himself as "a modern-day Henry David Thoreau, who encouraged civil disobedience to effect universal societal benefits, including ending slavery and war. But [Pines] is not Thoreau, and his cause is not slavery or war. [Pines] sought a few minutes of fame in front of reporters or the television cameras while he violated the law, or encouraged his clients to do so.''

Pines represented himself in the trial and took the stand to testify on his own behalf. He also faces criminal charges in separate cases in Ventura and San Diego counties.

-- City News Service contributed to this story.