Held-to-answer arraignment set for jail inmate accused of carjacking, assault
After a preliminary hearing, judge orders Santiago C. Garnica to return for the arraignment Feb. 7 in Department 11 in the Justice Center in Fairfield
After a preliminary hearing Monday, a 35-yearold Solano County Jail inmate faces further legal proceedings in the coming days on nine felony charges, including carjacking, assault with a firearm, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Citing enough evidence to hold Santiago Castaneda Garnica for trial, Judge William J. Pendergast ordered the defendant to return to Department 11 for a heldto-answer arraignment at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 7 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.
On that day, if the matter is not continued, the judge likely will set pretrial proceedings and a trial date.
On Jan. 13, Garnica appeared in Pendergast’s courtroom for several matters, among them remanded bail of $690,000.
Represented by Deputy Public Defender Jeannette Garcia, Garnica previously had been scheduled for a preliminary hearing and a jury trial earlier, but, in accord with current public health directives amid the ongoing pandemic, Solano County Superior Court judges are postponing some proceedings.
Court records show Garnica, who remains in custody at the Claybank Detention Facility in Fairfield, faces one count of carjacking; three counts of assault with a firearm; one count of assault with a deadly weapon; two counts of making criminal threats; one count of unlawful firearm activity; and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Deputy District Attorney Becky Self leads the prosecution.
Court records show Garnica did not waive time for any pending proceedings during a previous court appearance and did not do so on Monday. It means he did not permit the court to take longer than usual in trying him on the criminal charges. Under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, defendants have a right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury.
A search of court documents last week did not clarify when and where exactly Garnica, committed the alleged felonies, but the Solano County District Attorney’s Office filed its complaint on July 28 last year after his arrest July 17 by Fairfield police officers.
It is unclear but Garnica may have been released from custody at some point last summer because he was arrested on Jan. 5 and taken into custody at Sacramento County Jail, the same day he was arrested and booked later on an outstanding warrant at Solano County Jail in Fairfield.