SAN DIEGO -- A Carlsbad man shared his personal impressions on jailed Hollywood film director Roman Polanski with 10News' Steve Fiorina.

The entry to Bill Lignante's house is a wall of memories and includes framed courtroom sketches he did for ABC News from 1968 to 1992.

Among the events Lignante was a part of include the prosecution of Sirhan Sirhan for the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, Patty Hearst with attorney F. Lee Bailey, Charles Manson, Angela Davis and Rodney King.

Tucked in the middle of that 26-year assignment, there was the statutory rape trial of Hollywood film director Roman Polanski.

Lignante did ten sketches during the brief trial, and three of them featuring the defendant.

Polanski seemed cool throughout, "Like, how dare they do this?" Lignante said.

Lignante began his career illustrating comic books and that helped him with another aspect of the job: recreating news events from eyewitness descriptions, such as the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981.

He said he loves drama and action. His sketches feature Charles Manson's antics during his trial, challenging the judge, telling his attorney to shut up. Manson follower Squeaky Fromme throwing an apple into the face of her attorney as a guilty verdict was announced.

Ironically, Lignante was assigned to cover the trial eight years later of the husband of Manson victim, actress Sharon Tate.

He said Polanski tried to use that, “He was riding on his wife’s death, maybe trying to get sympathy from the judge or anyone else in the courtroom because of his wife’s murder by Manson.”

When he saw the latest Polanski news unfolding this past weekend, he said the memories of that trial 32 years ago came flooding back.

Whatever happens next, he said he would watch on TV, as cameras are allowed in the courtroom now and he is now retired.