Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS. : COURTS : Judge Threatened by Man After Sentencing

A convicted killer, who has a history of jail escapes, muttered an audible threat in court to the judge who sentenced him to a 30-year-to-life sentence last week.

“I hope I see you on the streets,” said Ivan Von Staich to Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert R. Fitzgerald. The threat was spoken softly but nonetheless was heard by many in the courtroom.

Staich was sentenced by Fitzgerald for the 1983 fatal shooting of Robert Topper, the husband of Staich’s former girlfriend, Cynthia Topper. After killing Robert Topper during a break-in of the couple’s Santa Ana home, Staich attacked Cynthia Topper with a claw hammer. She survived but has had extensive brain surgery.

Staich escaped from Orange County Jail on Jan. 26 but was captured in February in Springfield, Mass. He had previously escaped from the Riverside County Jail and from custody of the California Youth Authority. Staich said after his capture in Massachusetts this year that he would again try to escape at his first opportunity.

Fitzgerald told Staich that the defendant was “more dangerous” than some whom Fitzgerald had sentenced to die. Later, the judge said he was not alarmed by the threat. “It’s not the first time that some defendant has threatened me,” said Fitzgerald.