BAIL HIKED FOR SLAYING SUSPECT.Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer Bail was raised Thursday to $1 million for a Ventura woman who pleaded not guilty to fatally shooting her husband before dismembering him with a table saw - a grisly case that drew a crush of news cameras. A haggard Gladis Guadalupe Barreras, 37, held her head down during her two-minute arraignment A criminal proceeding at which the defendant is officially called before a court of competent jurisdiction, informed of the offense charged in the complaint, information, indictment, or other charging document, and asked to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or as otherwise permitted in the killing of Pedro Barragan Alba, 35. When Judge Bruce Clark This article is about the American actor. For the British journalist and writer, see Bruce Clark (journalist). Bruce Allan Clark (born 5 March 1958, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.) is an actor who appeared in the 1970 TV series Here Come the Double Deckers. increased bail from $250,000 to $1 million, several onlookers gasped in amazement. Senior Deputy District Attorney Patricia Murphy said the fourfold bail increase was justified because of the grisly nature of the slaying and to prevent Barreras from bailing out and possibly hurting others. ``We fear for the safety of family members,'' Murphy said after the hearing. ``Two of the things that we consider when we ask for a bail increase are the safety of others as well as a flight risk. And we had concerns about both of those areas.'' Defense attorney Jorge Alvarado refused to comment on the case, instead focusing on the tragedy of the situation. ``We would appreciate everyone's respect here for the grieving families because of the tragic loss on both sides here,'' Alvarado said. ``And that's all I have to say. The rest of the case will be coming forward in its due process in court.'' Police said Barreras shot the sleeping Alba in the head about 2 a.m. Saturday. With her five young children in the house, she hid Alba's body in a closet until late Saturday night, when she dragged it to the garage and used an electric table saw to remove the head and limbs. She put the severed body parts in plastic bags, drove to a remote area near the Ventura River The Ventura River is a river in Ventura County, California. The river forms at the confluence of Matilija Creek and North Fork Matilija Creek, 15 miles upstream from the Pacific Ocean. and the Ventura County Fairgrounds n. pl. 1. same as fairground. and set the remains afire, police said. Tommy Wright
Barreras is charged with murder and use of a gun in the commission of a murder. If convicted, she could be sentenced to two terms of 25 years to life in prison. She would not be eligible for the death penalty. She is also facing a charge of assault with a deadly weapon Assault with a Deadly Weapon is the term used to describe the act of threatening to harm one or more people by using a weapon (usually a firearm). Here, assault must be differentiated from battery as they are often confused. Assault is threatening to use force. in connection with a Jan. 10 attack on Maria C. Ortega of Oxnard, Alba's mistress. Barreras is accused of slamming her car into Ortega's van after finding her husband at Ortega's house. Murphy, the prosecutor, declined to talk about a possible love triangle A love triangle is a romantic relationship involving three people (known as a triad). While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two. . Investigators, she said, are looking into Barreras' claims that her husband frequently abused her physically and verbally during their 15-year marriage. CAPTION(S): photo PHOTO (color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour Simi and Conejo edition) Gladis Guadalupe Barreras pleaded not guilty to killing and dismembering her husband during her arraignment Thursday. Michael Owen
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