A man who brandished two butcher knives as he confronted his estranged wife at their son’s flag football game will serve less than a year behind bars after accepting a court offer made over the objection of Orange County prosecutors.
Russell Matthew Husges, 43, during a hearing at the Westminster courthouse on Friday afternoon, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, among other charges.
Had Husges been convicted as charged, he could have faced more than 15 years to life in prison. But, with a judge opting to dismiss an allegation that Husges acted with with premeditation, he is now expected to serve less than a year in jail due to time served before being released on five years of supervised probation, prosecutors said.
Husges’ estranged wife repeatedly urged Orange County Superior Court Judge Kazuharu Makino to sentence him to a longer term behind bars, during courtroom comments that ranged from tearful to angry.
The woman said she and her children are living in constant fear of Husges being released. She alleged that Husges had previously threatened to kill her, had spoken about coming to her work to shoot her and had driven with their children and loaded weapons in his car.
“I feel that if Russell is to get out he will kill me, literally kill me,” the woman said. “Because I am the reason he is here, is in jail, and I fear my children will not have a mother.”
Makino – a retired judge who is among those who have returned to handle some court cases – pointed out that Husges is a veteran and has no criminal record. He also noted that no one was injured during the incident at the football game, and that Husges is pleading guilty early in the court process.
“This is obviously the result of an emotional situation,” the judge said.
According to prosecutors, on May 14 the estranged wife was watching her 9-year-old son play flag football at the Chapman Sports Complex on Knott Street when Husges charged at her from across the field, brandishing two large butcher knives.
The couple’s 9-year-old boy, with the help of an off-duty Garden Grove police officer, got between Husges and the woman, prosecutors said.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Shawn Nelson, who attended Friday’s hearing, said afterward that Husges had no reason to be at the football game, since a court order barring him from contacting his estranged wife had been issued by a family court judge several weeks prior.
“What world do we live in where that is not a deliberate act,” Nelson said.
Husges appeared in court via video link from the jail and did not comment during the hearing beyond his guilty pleas. His attorney declined to comment following Friday’s hearing.
