The man who attempted to flee from Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s custody after a jury found him guilty of rape pleaded not guilty to the escape charge on Wednesday.
Arian Eteghaei, 23, a former UC Santa Barbara student, pleaded not guilty to a felony count of escape by force or violence and denied a special allegation for escaping from the courthouse while being transported to jail.
The charges stem from an incident in January after a Superior Court jury found Eteghaei guilty of forcible rape and other sexual assault charges. Court bailiffs, who are overseen by the Sheriff’s Office, handcuffed him in the courtroom and took him into custody after the verdicts were read…