Jeremy London’s Accused Kidnapper To Discuss Plea Deal
A man accused of kidnapping and robbing actor Jeremy London in Palm Springs will decide today whether to accept a plea bargain.
The 37-year-old London, known for his roles in the television dramas “Party of Five” and “7th Heaven,” claims Brandon Adams, 27, kidnapped him last June and made him buy drugs and alcohol.
Adams has said London willingly went on a joy ride with him and his friends, and the actor’s twin brother and other family members have expressed doubts about the recovering addict’s story.
But Adams is charged with carjacking, kidnapping, robbery, taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent and receiving stolen property.
Deputy District Attorney Jake Silva told City News Service that his office has offered a plea bargain to Adams, on which he expects a decision today during a trial-readiness conference at the Larson Justice Center.
“We are hopeful, but I don’t know,” Silva said. “We’ll see if they take it, it’s up to (Adams) to say yes or no.”
Silva did not give details on the proposed deal. Adams’ attorney Greg Geist said he will not comment on pending cases.
Should no plea bargain be reached before the hearing today, an estimated 10-day trial would begin at the end of the month.
“Something will get accomplished (today),” Silva said.
During a preliminary hearing in October, London, who lives in Los Angeles, said he was in Palm Springs on June 10 to visit his estranged wife and son, and that his day began to go awry when he got a flat tire.
He said he and his wife had both taken Ambien, a prescription sleep aid, and were on their way to the Palm Court Inn, where they planned to take a nap, when the Ford Focus became disabled near a convenience store.
He said Adams and another man, who turned out to be the defendant’s uncle, offered to help him fix the flat tire.
London testified that he agreed to give the men a ride home.
He said he left his wife at her Palm Springs home and dropped off the uncle, but Adams stayed in the car, taking him on a “goose chase” through Palm Springs until two others — an unidentified teen and a man known only as Little N — got into the car.
“We just weren’t getting to a location. I was starting to shake, getting scared,” he said.
The actor said he was told to pull into the driveway of a seemingly abandoned home, where Little N pulled out a gun and robbed him of $200 from his wallet and $600 he had in an envelope.
He said the men threatened to kill him, his wife and son.
Little N “told me to get in the trunk,” London testified. “I said, `I can buy you guys things on my credit card.”’
London said he made the offer because “I didn’t want to get in the trunk … There was a gun to my head. I thought I was never going to see my son again.”
The actor said they went to a liquor store and he bought them alcohol, before heading to a street party, where they handed out the booze through the car’s windows.
Later, the men used London’s money to buy drugs, and he said he was forced to take Ecstasy.
The actor said he took the pill because he was scared. Throughout the night, he also swallowed an unknown pill and smoked a substance through a glass pipe, he said.
London said he escaped several hours later when he got word to a woman that he needed help.
London said he entered drug rehab in September 2009 because he had a problem with painkillers. He also said he accepted $40,000 to take part in the reality show “Celebrity Rehab.”
Under cross-examination by Geist, London denied asking Adams and his uncle for drugs after they helped him change the tire.
Adams is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.