Just as it looked like the case against a former homicide detective charged with extortion might be moving forward, it was delayed, again.
Judge Wesley L. Hsu’s latest order in federal court for defendants Steven Arthur Lankford, Glen Louis Cozart, Max Samuel Bennett Turbett and Matthew Phillip Hart moves their trial back 10 more months, with a final pretrial conference set for Feb. 5.
The trial could start about 17 days after that. However, Hsu’s order acknowledged the case is “so unusual and so complex,” and with four defendants, additional issues could arise.
In addition to delays, there have been other unusual requests, such as an adjustment of bail conditions for Turbett, while he travels to the Maldives for “business and personal reasons,” with a $100,000 bond put up for collateral.
The four defendants’ previous business activity is what brought the attention of federal prosecutors, who alleged Lankford, a retired homicide detective from Sand Canyon, was part of an extortion ring.
The four men stand accused of trying to bully an Irvine man into signing away his multimillion-dollar interest in a company he shared with a Chinese national, a man accused of financing a sham raid against the victim.
Lankford’s attorney, Davina Chen, tried to get her client’s charges dismissed by arguing that the federal statute that applies to crimes “under the color of law,” shouldn’t have applied to her client, because he had not actual authority in Orange County, where the crimes allegedly occurred. Hsu disagreed.
However, he does anticipate a unique set of arguments next year, when the case is heard in his courtroom.
“The case is so unusual and so complex, due to the nature of the prosecution, the number of defendants, and the existence of novel questions of fact or law, that it is unreasonable to expect preparation for pretrial proceedings or for the trial itself within the time limits established by the Speedy Trial Act; and failure to grant the continuance would unreasonably deny defendants continuity of counsel and would deny defense counsel the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence,” according to his order issued April 16.
The Department of Justice alleged in an August 2024 news release that Lankford and three others “acted as a sham law enforcement team that entered an Irvine man’s home and threatened him and his family with violence and deportation unless he turned over nearly $37 million and signed away his rights in a business.”
Named as Lankford’s accomplices in the federal indictment were: Cozart, 63, of Upland; Turbett, 39, of Australia, a United Kingdom citizen and former member of the British military who owns an Australia-based private investigation and asset recovery business; and Hart, 41, of Australia, an Australian citizen and former member of the Australian military who owns an Australia-based risk management services business, according to the DOJ.
The alleged victim, an Irvine businessman whose identity has not been released, had an ongoing business dispute with an unindicted co-conspirator, a wealthy Chinese national, regarding their respective ownership interests in Jiangsu Sinorgchem Technology Co. Ltd., a China-based rubber chemical manufacturer, according to the federal indictment.
In addition to being a longtime L.A. County Sheriff’s Department homicide detective, Lankford was awarded a Quality of Service Award in a 2018 ceremony inside the office of then-Sheriff Jim McDonnell.
