RAPIST PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO KIDNAPPING, MURDER.Byline: Sabrina Decker Staff Writer VENTURA - Convicted Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. rapist Vincent Sanchez pleaded not guilty Friday to kidnapping kidnapping, in law, the taking away of a person by force, threat, or deceit, with intent to cause him to be detained against his will. Kidnapping may be done for ransom or for political or other purposes. , rape and first-degree murder charges filed in the slaying of Megan Barroso after his indictment in the case was dismissed. Sanchez's attorney affirmed for the court that his client was again pleading not guilty to the charges, which could result in the death penalty if he is convicted. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 8. The indictment against Sanchez was overturned earlier this month by a Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. judge who ruled there were not enough women sitting on the Ventura County grand jury that heard the case. The charges filed Friday excluded two rape cases that were included in the indictment, to which Sanchez previously had pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors said the deadline had expired for filing charges in those cases, and that getting an extension would have required more DNA evidence Among the many new tools that science has provided for the analysis of forensic evidence is the powerful and controversial analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, the material that makes up the genetic code of most organisms. than was available. Sanchez, 31, previously has admitted to being the serial rapist who terrorized more than a dozen women in Simi Valley and the west San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. for five years. He faces life in prison when he is eventually sentenced. However, prosecutors denied his attempt to plead guilty to second-degree murder in Barroso's slaying, instead pushing for a trial on capital charges. Barroso, a 20-year-old Moorpark College Moorpark College is a California-state funded community college located on a 134 acre (542,000 m²) property reclining on a hill in Moorpark, a town in Ventura County, California. student, disappeared July 5, 2001, on her way home from an Independence Day party. Her body was found about a month later in a rugged area near Simi Valley. |
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