Case to be heard in San Luis Obispo County court

FIRE

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Barbara County Public Defender’s Office.

The case, however, “will be heard by a San Luis Obispo County judge in a San Luis Obispo County courtroom,” Prosecutor Ingalls said.

Once in San Luis Obispo, Mr. Spies, 31, entered not guilty pleas and denied all enhancements and allegations on his felony case. A misdemeanor case for vandalism for an unrelated incident was continued for further arraignment.

Both cases were continued to March 2 for a conference to set a date for a preliminary hearing. However, the court also tentatively set the case for the preliminary hearing on March 7.

At his arraignment Wednesday in San Luis Obispo, Mr. Spies asked the court to release him on a pretrial supervised release, Prosecutor Ingalls said.

“I opposed this release based upon public safety concerns,” he said. “The court denied the defendant’s request for release and set bail at $75,000 on the felony case and $2,500 on the misdemeanor case.”

The fire and sprinkler water combined caused extensive damage to furniture, wall paneling, cabinetry, carpeting and court records, according to Court Executive Officer Darrel Parker. The court files will be freezedried and digitized before they deteriorate.

The courtroom will be offline for about a year, he said.

According to Mr. Parker, the defendant allegedly went to the Santa Maria court complex Saturday night, ignored a security guard’s order to leave and broke two glass doors to gain entry into the criminal court building, Mr. Parker said. Once inside, he allegedly forced his way into the Department 8 courtroom, pulling the doors so hard that he broke the wood frames on the top of the doors, he said.

Mr. Spies then allegedly started a fire on the defense counsel’s chair, which spread to the table and carpet. Mr. Parker said the fire was so hot that it melted the lights in the ceiling and caused the sprinklers to come on. He said the sprinklers extinguished the fire, but it took so much water that it pretty much destroyed the courtroom. email: nhartsteinnewspress@gmail.com

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