NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — A judge ordered an accused individual Wednesday to surrender his passport and the passports of his three children, despite repeated claims that neither he nor the children were in possession of the documents.
During a protective order modification hearing at the Newport Beach Harbor Justice Center, the accused stated he did not have access to his passport or his children’s passports, but Judge Richard Pacheco was unconvinced and ordered that the documents be submitted.
On July 19, 2024, the accused was charged with corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. He pleaded not guilty on July 24, 2024.
Originally, the accused was issued a stay-away order and was prohibited from coming within 100 yards of his wife and three children.
On Wednesday, the protective order was modified, and the children were no longer listed on the order because they live with the accused. However, the judge ordered that the accused must submit his passport and the passports of his three children by noon Thursday.
The request to surrender the passports arose after the accused sent a photo in a text message one month ago to a family member that included his passport and packed bags, indicating that he was leaving.
The accused claimed that he did not have his passport or his children’s passports and that they were with his wife, so he would not be able to turn them in.
Because the accused had recently sent a photograph of his passport, Judge Pacheco was not persuaded by the argument and questioned how the accused was able to take a photo of the passport and send it to a family member if he was not in possession of it.
Despite the accused’s repeated claims that he did not have the passports, the judge remained firm in his decision.
Eventually, the accused stated that when he returned home, he would search for the passports.
If the passports were not submitted, Deputy Public Defender Jessica Arbgast told the judge that she would have an investigator go and check.
The accused’s next pretrial hearing is scheduled for July 6.
