John Wessman asked to surrender passport following delayed arraignment
Local developer John Wessman’s arraignment was delayed Thursday morning at the Riverside Hall of Justice as the District Attorney’s Office requests all three defendants connected to the public corruption charges in Palm Springs appear in court at the same time.
Watch KESQ 6AM Live Report ahead of Thursday’s arraignment
His arraignment was postponed until May 19.
The judge asked Wessman to surrender his passport following the delayed arraignment, but Wessman didn’t have it on him at the time. He is expected to surrender it in the near future. His lawyer objected to the request, stating his client wasn’t a flight risk, according to KESQ and CBS Local 2 reporter Jeremy Chen.
Wessman’s codefendants, developer Richard Meaney and former Palm Springs mayor Steve Pougnet, are slated to appear for arraignment in April; Meaney on April 28 and Pougnet on April 21.
We’ll have updates as Meaney and Pougnet make their first court appearances.
KESQ and CBS Local 2 will have updates as soon as we hear back from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
Watch video as former mayor Pougnet surrenders to authorities
Wessman and Richard Meaney surrendered themselves to authorities in February after public corruption and bribery charges were filed against them and former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet.
The FBI investigation began on September 1, 2015.
Video: Looking for answers from the new head of Wessman Development
Wessman’s attorneys, Rod Soda and David Greenberg, released a statement Wednesday afternoon ahead of the arraignment.
“We have reviewed the evidence that we have received thus far, and are extremely comfortable and confident in our ability to prove John Wessman’s complete and total innocence. We look forward to the opportunity to finally get this matter into a forum where all of the innuendo and speculation can finally be exposed as untrue and the evidence will confirm Mr. Wessman as a valuable asset of this community.”
KESQ and CBS Local 2 will have live team coverage from Wessman’s arraignment Thursday morning. Watch Live a 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. as Wessman makes it to court.
