Stalking, arson suspects return to court
Two Santa Clarita Valley residents, one a former fire captain accused of stalking and the other a Newhall woman accused of arson, returned to court on Wednesday.
Officials from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office had not responded to requests for information Wednesday on when the two suspects would return to court for their next required appearance.
Robert Goldman
Robert Goldman, 64, a former Los Angeles County Fire Department captain, returned to court after having been arrested in February 2020 on suspicion of a number of felonies and outstanding warrants.
He appeared on Wednesday for a setting of violation hearing, a hearing in which the prosecution will have to prove that the suspect violated their terms of supervision or probation.
The incident that ultimately led to Goldman’s arrest began on Feb. 7, 2020, when Goldman is suspected of having picked up his girlfriend on the 19300 block of Soledad Canyon Road in Canyon Country, in violation of a restraining order, investigators said.
“He coaxed her into his vehicle and traveled to Palmdale,” Lt. Ignacio Somoano of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s
Station said via email around the time of the incident.
Goldman is then accused by investigators of hopping on Highway 14, evading both Palmdale Sheriff’s Station deputies and officers with the California Highway Patrol Newhall-Area Office after reaching speeds as high as 100 mph.
The North Hollywood Division of the Los Angeles Police Department eventually captured Goldman and turned him over to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
“Santa Clarita Valley detectives presented the case to the San Fernando District Attorney’s Office and several felony charges were filed on Mr. Goldman, including stalking, violation of a court order, felony evading and resisting arrest,” said Somoano at the time. “Mr. Goldman had also been out on bail on several other previous charges and had several arrest warrants totaling $650,000 in bail.”
Maria Herrera
Maria Herrera, 29, of Newhall, returned to court on Wednesday for a prelim setting after she was charged last year in connection to an alleged vehicle theft and arson.
She was charged with one felony count each of driving or taking a vehicle without consent (a 2016 Prius owned by UCLA); and arson of a structure or forest, said Ricardo
Santiago, spokesman for the D.A.’s Office, at the time of her arrest.
The 29-year-old was arrested on suspicion of purposefully starting a 2-acre brush fire on Oct. 2 near the intersection of 15th Street and Railroad Avenue. She was also believed to be out on parole at the time of the Newhall fire, according to investigators.
She appeared on Wednesday for a prelim setting, or a hearing date to schedule a preliminary hearing, when the evidence is presented to the judge who decides whether the trial will move ahead.
She is being held in lieu of $255,000 bail at the Century Regional Detention Facility.