Prosecutors pursuing their case against a Valencia woman accused of slashing a sheriff’s deputy in the throat with a broken bottle have reduced the charge against her from attempted murder to assault.
Sandra Marie Miller, 29, appeared Tuesday in San Fernando Superior Court and was ordered to return to court Wednesday, to be arraigned on one felony count of assault upon a peace officer, Ricardo Santiago, spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told The Signal Wednesday,
Miller was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after she allegedly slashed a local sheriff’s deputy in the neck with a broken bottle Friday.
The attacked deputy, who was treated for his injuries at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, has recovered and was back at work Monday with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
The incident happened shortly after 11:30 a.m. Friday, at Orchard Village Road and Wiley Canyon Road, Lt. Ignacio Somoano, in charge of the station’s Detective Section, said.
“We’ve taken a female into custody near the school,” Lt. James Duran told The Signal on the day of incident.
“She was walking in traffic and when the deputy approached, she slashed him in the neck with a bottle,” he said.
Miller, according to a family member who contacted The Signal Wednesday, worked for eight years as an emergency medical technician.
In the Santa Clarita Valley, she is well-known among first responders including firefighters, paramedics, and sheriff’s deputies, the relative said.
Miller lives about 1,400 feet from the intersection where the attack occurred.
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