Fire Investigator Pleads Guilty in Bar Case

An off-duty  arson investigator who has been accused of jabbing a knife into a bar at a Sunset Beach establishment last year pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor vandalism.

Darryl Lee Powers, 49, who lives in La Palma, now faces probation and community service requirements.

Powers was also accused of , but that misdemeanor charge was dropped, according to prosecutors. 

When Powers visited the bar on July 7, 2010, he allegedly took out a knife and jabbed it into the bar where he was sitting and drinking. A bartender removed the knife, said Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Olivieri.

But then Powers allegedly pulled out a gun and placed it on the bar, frightening a woman sitting next to him, according to reports. Orange County sheriff's deputies were then called to the bar.

Conflicting accounts from witnesses about what happened that night led prosecutors to seek a plea bargain with Powers, Olivieri told news services.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Cassidy sentenced Powers to three years of informal probation and 30 days of community service with Caltrans.

Powers is on leave from the Hermosa Beach Fire Department.

— City News Service contributed to this report.