RIVERSIDE--Officials said Thursday that they will decide in a few weeks whether to file a felony perjury charge against Ray Horspool, a Republican candidate for the 64th Assembly District.

The district attorney's office is investigating Horspool, who declared an office in Riverside's Canyon Crest area his home while he was living outside the 64th District in Yucaipa, an official said Thursday.

A citizen asked that Horspool, a Riverside accountant with strong political backing and a prominent family name, be removed from the ballot in the upcoming Republican primary for the open Assembly seat.

The Riverside County registrar of voters forwarded the complaint to the district attorney and the secretary of state.

"You're supposed to register at one's domicile . . . where one lives on a permanent basis," said Bill Mitchell, supervising deputy district attorney, who plans to do more interviews and try to determine whether Horspool had criminal intent.

Horspool has said he didn't think he was doing anything wrong.

"It's blatantly political, and I'm surprised that (District Attorney) Grover (Trask) would even entertain it," Horspool said.

He admits that his primary residence is in Yucaipa, where he lives with his family, but he said former Registrar of Voters Frank Johnson told him he could declare his office as his residence as long as he had a bathroom and a place to sleep and eat there.

Johnson, who was in office when Horspool's voter registration was approved in 1992, has said he can't remember what he told Horspool.

Horspool sent a letter to the current registrar defending his decision to register to vote at his business address and said that he has used the same address for personal banking, vehicle registrations and his driver license. He even served as a juror in Riverside County in July, he said.

Felony perjury charges carry up to four years in prison, but Mitchell said a conviction in a case like this one probably wouldn't result in such a severe sentence. He wouldn't speculate about what kind of a sentence Horspool could face if charged and convicted.

The secretary of state's office would not say whether it is doing anything with the complaint, but said the law is unambiguous about residency requirements for candidates.

"The residency issue is quite clear. It states that if you want to run for a legislative office you must be a resident of that district," said Shad Balch, a spokesman for the secretary.

Joe Lucsko, the self-described political watchdog who complained to the registrar, said he was unsatisfied with Horspool's explanation and hoped the registrar would remove Horspool from the ballot.

Lucsko denied being asked to write the letter, although he admitted he knows and likes Assemblyman Rod Pacheco, R-Riverside, who supports Horspool opponent Lou Monville, a Riverside public relations executive.

"I think I can read a law and understand what it says. I think Mr. Horspool is in some trouble," Lucsko said.

Pauline Chamberlin, chief deputy with the registrar of voters, said her office would keep Horspool on the ballot unless the district attorney's office says there was a violation of the candidacy requirements.

Mischelle Townsend, the current registrar, and the former registrar have said previously that the law on residency requirements may not be as clear as it seems at first glance, especially considering it was written by the very people who might want to test its limits.

Balch in the secretary of state's office said residency questions have cropped up more lately after in the wake of legislative redistricting and in anticipation of Friday's today's candidacy filing deadline.

The 64th Assembly District includes the eastern two-thirds of Riverside, the western half of Moreno Valley, Canyon Lake, small slices of Temecula and Wildomar, Idyllwild and the Coachella Valley cities of Bermuda Dunes, Indian Wells, Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage.

The Republican-leaning district is open because Pacheco has to leave because of thanks to term limits. Also in the field are Monville and retired California Highway Patrol Commander John Benoit of Palm Desert.

Palm Desert Mayor Jim Ferguson dropped out of the contest this week., saying it was difficult to defend his name while a former Palm Desert employee pursued a sexual harassment lawsuit against the city that once named Ferguson //as one of the defendants??//

Reach Michelle DeArmond at (909) 248-6193 or mdearmond@pe.com