By Amy Berberyan
MODESTO, CA–During a preliminary hearing Friday in Stanislaus County Superior Court, an accused faced charges for failing to appear in court and providing false identification to a police officer. Both charges, for now, were dismissed.
Officer Mark Ulrich, the first witness, testified he had encountered the accused on Aug. 27 after arresting a prostitute at an inn.
The manager at the inn provided Officer Ulrich with the room information, claiming he wanted the prostitute removed. Ulrich placed the prostitute under arrest, and noted “two males [being] with her in the hotel room,” one of which was the accused.
The accused was found by the bathroom sink with methamphetamine and a plastic straw Officer Ulrich said was commonly “used to ingest narcotics.”
When Officer Ulrich ordered him to leave the room and go outside with his partner, Officer Callahan, the accused complied.
Officer Ulrich alleged, when the other officer spoke with the accused, the accused gave the officer a false name, as the officers found out when they ran a record check with the name the accused provided and failed to find an identification match.
He added the accused eventually told an officer his true identity.
Deputy Public Defender Anton Wagner argued the accused’s first charge, the one stating he’d failed to appear in court, should be dismissed because he’d found no court date, explaining, “I don’t know how there is evidence that my client failed to appear in court on that day.”
As for the second count of providing a police officer with a false name, the PD argued the accused eventually did provide his correct name.
The deputy district attorney admitted the court date for Count 1 was a mistake, and involved a date in August rather than April. Since his physical evidence did not extend to this date, Judge Dawna Reeves suggested that he refile this count.
Judge Reeves discharged the accused, warning him he’d be recalled if the prosecutor refiled.
