NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — A pretrial hearing on a felony vandalism charge at the Newport Beach Harbor Justice Center on Thursday ended with the accused being remanded into custody, despite defense arguments that transportation problems and language barriers contributed to the delayed court appearance.
When the case was first called, the accused was not present in court, leading the judge to set bail at $50,000 after the accused failed to appear. The accused, who had recently been released from custody, arrived later in the afternoon, shortly after 2 p.m., and requested a Spanish interpreter before the hearing continued.
Once the accused appeared, the judge briefly conferred off the record with Deputy District Attorney Alexandra Tunaru and the deputy public defender. Following the discussion, the deputy public defender asked the court to recall the warrant, explaining that the accused had “limited transportation” and had still made it to court the same day…