NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — A pretrial hearing on a felony vandalism charge at the Newport Beach Harbor Justice Center on Thursday ended with the accused being remanded into custody, despite defense arguments that transportation problems and language barriers contributed to the delayed court appearance.
When the case was first called, the accused was not present in court, leading the judge to set bail at $50,000 after the accused failed to appear. The accused, who had recently been released from custody, arrived later in the afternoon, shortly after 2 p.m., and requested a Spanish interpreter before the hearing continued.
Once the accused appeared, the judge briefly conferred off the record with Deputy District Attorney Alexandra Tunaru and the deputy public defender. Following the discussion, the deputy public defender asked the court to recall the warrant, explaining that the accused had “limited transportation” and had still made it to court the same day.
The deputy public defender also told the court that while the accused had been on PARS (Pretrial Assessment Release Supervision) supervision, there was “no one who spoke Spanish,” which made communication difficult and contributed to the accused’s lack of response. The defense argued that these circumstances helped explain why the accused had not been present when the case was first called.
Judge Maria D. Hernandez agreed to recall the warrant but expressed concern about the accused’s repeated failure to appear as required. “He’s not showing up when he’s supposed to,” the judge said, adding, “I have concerns.” Although the defense stressed that the accused had appeared and was now present before the court, the judge found the explanation insufficient, stating that the “court is not convinced.”
The judge then ordered the accused remanded into custody. A family member seated in the courtroom gallery watched as the judge ordered the accused into custody.
Before ending the hearing, the court set the matter for bail review and pretrial, followed by a preliminary hearing scheduled two days later. The hearing concluded with deputies escorting the accused out of the courtroom following the remand order.
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