Skull seller faces hearing on Oct. 20

Advertiser Staff

A U.S. District Court magistrate in Los Angeles yesterday set an Oct. 20 preliminary hearing in the case of a California man charged with violating federal law by offering to sell a 200-year-old Hawaiian skull on eBay.

Jerry David Hasson, a 55-year-old Huntington Beach resident, is scheduled to enter a plea at an arraignment hearing Oct. 25, said Thom Mrozek, public affairs spokesman for the court.

A $10,000 bond was set, but Hasson was not taken into custody, Mrozek said.

Hasson was charged Sept. 8 following an investigation by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. The skull was listed on eBay in February but was withdrawn for sale before any bids were entered. However, a federal investigator working under cover negotiated a private deal to acquire the skull.