The man accused of shooting a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy in Newhall in 2017 returned to court Thursday, only to have the setting for his preliminary hearing pushed to next month.

Monolito Guerra, of Newhall, who was 29 at the time of the crime, allegedly shot and wounded Deputy Albert White at an apartment complex on Bottletree Lane on Nov. 28, 2017.

A woman had called authorities to report that someone pointed a gun at her as she was getting out of her vehicle, LASD officials reported. Deputies also learned that there was possibly a second suspect involved.

“When deputies arrived on scene, they contacted the victim and began a search for the suspects,” a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station official said at the time.

The assailant fled near the pool area of the apartment complex and made his way toward the parking lot, where shots were fired.

Guerra allegedly fired his gun toward four deputies, including White, who was shot in the neck.

The 29-year-old deputy suffered a “through-and-through” wound to his neck, according to officials. The four-year veteran of the department was rushed to a hospital by fellow deputies and released the next day.

“A quarter of an inch either way, it would have taken out his carotid (artery) or his spine,” said then-Sheriff Jim McDonnell. “We’re just very thankful that the results were what they were.”

The gunman was wounded at least once in the upper body and transferred to a medical jail ward. He was then booked on suspicion of parole violation, the Sheriff’s Department reported.

Through their investigation, homicide detectives learned that Guerra was initially arrested in 2014 and sentenced to state prison on Feb. 2, 2016, according to authorities.

Guerra was serving a five-year prison term for evading arrest, a four-year prison term for a secondary charge of evading arrest, and an eight-month prison term for assault with a deadly weapon, according to Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez.

He was released October 16, 2017 and paroled just under six weeks prior to the officer-involved shooting.

Guerra is currently being held in lieu of more than $5.7 million bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles.

He has plead not guilty to a total of 14 charges, including five counts of assault with a firearm and four counts of attempted murder. 

Guerra is scheduled to return to court at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on April 23 for another preliminary hearing setting.

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