Castaic Man Takes 26-Year Plea Deal In Attempted Murder Case

Posted by: Perry Smith in Sheriff News July 25, 2014 - 8:57 am 0 137 Views

A Castaic man pleaded no contest to an attempted murder, a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.

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Ronald Lee Holt, 47, of Castaic, is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 4 at Los Angeles County Superior Court in San Fernando, where he faces 26 years in state prison, Santiago said.

The plea was part of a negotiated deal with officials from the District Attorney’s Office. A no contest plea is the same as a guilty plea in the eyes of the court.

Holt is accused of assaulting a wheelchair-bound Sunland man named Lance Love with a miniature baseball bat March 17, 2013.

Love and his family members are expected to make an impact statement at the sentencing hearing, Santiago said.

Related: Castaic Man Due Back In June On Attempted Murder Charge

From a previous story:

Witnesses said Holt was refused service at The Sundown Bar at the 7800 block of Foothill Boulevard in Sunland, because he was drunk, according to Detective Anthony Stephenson of the Los Angeles Police Department.

“He turned to the victim (who was inside the bar) and said, ‘Hey Lance, you know me, tell them I’m OK,’” Stephenson said.

When Love refused to get involved, Holt left the bar, came back and struck Love twice with a miniature baseball bat, Stephenson said.

“He hit the suspect twice and knocked the victim out of his (motorized) wheelchair and knocked the wheelchair over with (the victim),” he said.

Holt was wearing a Vagos Tshirt when he was arrested, which is associated with a known motorcycle gang, but Stephenson said he could not confirm with documented evidence that Holt was a member of the gang.

Holt did have a criminal record, Stephenson said, and confirmed that Holt has served two separate sentences in state prisons.

Holt was arrested March 19, after a brief “low-speed” pursuit of his green Mazda on Interstate 5, south of HIghway 14, where he was pulled over.

A gang unit with the Los Angeles Police Department coordinated with Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies on surveillance of Holt’s Castaic home off Ridge Route Road, Stephenson said.

Love is recovering and communicating with family members, Stephenson said.

The victim later claimed to not know Holt; however, records showed that at one point, the two lived within a block of each other, Stephenson said.

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