Man accused of shooting deputy returns to court

Suspect in jogger attack also makes an appearance before judge

A man accused of shooting a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputy and another man accused of attacking a Valencia jogger returned to court on Thursday.

Monolito Guerra

Monolito Guerra, 31, of Newhall, appeared in court on Thursday after pleading not guilty to having shot a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputy in the neck in 2017.

Guerra is set to return to court on April 23 for a pretrial hearing. A pretrial hearing involves the judge, prosecution and defense convening in order to present evidence, documents and/or any other relevant materials/matters before the trial begins.

The 31-year-old is accused of shooting SCV sheriff’s deputy Albert White during a shootout in Newhall on Nov. 28, 2017, while the suspect was already on parole for a felony evading arrest and assault with a deadly weapon conviction.

White suffered a “through-and-through” wound, and though he was initially hospitalized and listed in critical condition, he returned to work in 2018 after recovering from the injury.

Guerra himself was shot by gunfire during the November 2017 incident, and was later transferred to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. He was later released to a Sheriff’s Department-controlled ward at the USC Medical Center on Dec. 10, 2017.

He is being held in lieu of $5,755,000 bail.

Colton Ford

Colton Ford, 32, is accused of attacking a 70-year-old jogger on a Santa Clarita bike path on Sept. 25, 2017.

Ford stands accused of crossing paths with the victim, then grabbing her and attempting to strangle her until she became unconscious, according to a previous statement from the District Attorney’s Office.

He is scheduled to return on April 15 for a pretrial hearing.

He has been charged with one count of attempted willful, deliberate and premeditated murder with an allegation that the defendant inflicted great bodily injury upon a victim 70 years of age or older

“Two good Samaritans who actually came to her rescue, held on to the suspect for deputies,” said former SCV Sheriff’s Station Capt. Robert Lewis during a City Council meeting shortly after the arrest in 2017. Lewis, while addressing the City Council, also said Ford had arrived in the SCV from Orange County in early 2017 and that he had been arrested on four Proposition 47 charges prior.

Proposition 47 — also called the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act — reduced about two dozen nonviolent felonies, such as shoplifting and drug possession, to misdemeanors, which typically carry less jail time, if any jail time at all.