A man accused in an allegedly violent Castaic home invasion pleaded not guilty at his preliminary arraignment Tuesday.
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Sal Medrano, 20, of Elkhart, Ind., stands accused of knocking on the door of Jeff Preach, trying to break into his home and then resisting arrest after Preach and his cousin managed to detain Medrano at gunpoint with a shotgun until deputies arrived.
“(Medrano) pleaded not guilty to all the charges,” said Sarah Ardalani, spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office. “There were six counts.”
Medrano was charged with two counts of attempted first degree residential robbery, a first degree burglary charge with person present and three counts of resisting arrest.
He’s now being held in lieu of $275,000 bail. He’s due back in court Jan. 14 for a preliminary hearing, when a judge is expected to decide whether there’s enough evidence to hold Medrano over for trial.
From a previous story:
UPDATE: Santa Clarita Detectives Investigate Castaic Home Invasion
Medrano reportedly knocked on the door late Sunday night, and when the homeowner answered, he was assaulted, Preach said.
His doorbell rang around 10:30 p.m., and when he answered his door the suspect, Medrano, asked for $100 million, Preach said.
“I just laughed and said, ‘Buddy, you got the wrong house,’” Preach said Monday afternoon.
Then things got hectic, he said.
Medrano allegedly became belligerent and threw at least four punches at Preach’s face, after pushing his way into the home, Preach said. He landed several blows but failed to hurt Preach too badly.
Preach, who described himself as a “big guy,” wrestled with the suspect and eventually managed to pin the man after summoning his “high school linebacker” strength, he said.
“I jammed him and I pinned him until we were forehead to forehead in between the sofa and the drywall,” Preach said.
After pinning Medrano, Preach, who had back surgery several weeks ago, yelled for his wife to call the Sheriff’s Station and get Preach’s shotgun. He was concerned the suspect might be able to grab a weapon with his free hand, he said.
After a struggle, the homeowner was able to detain the suspect at gunpoint with a shotgun, with help from his wife and his cousin, who was recovering from an even more recent back surgery, Preach said.
Medrano allegedly remained combative after deputies arrived on scene, he said. Deputies arrested Medrano for robbery and resisting arrest.
If convicted of all the charges, Medrano faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison.
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