Two men accused of committing felonies within the Santa Clarita Valley returned to court this week.
David Charles
A man accused of a litany of felonies stemming from an alleged domestic violence call that resulted in him driving down the wrong side of the freeway and being struck by a car returned to court Tuesday.
David Charles, 59, faces at least seven felony counts, ranging from two counts of attempted murder and child abuse to assault with a deadly weapon, among others.
He has been ordered to return to court on June 30 for a prelim setting. A prelim setting is a hearing date to schedule a preliminary hearing — when the evidence is presented to the judge, who decides whether the trial will move ahead.
The charges against Charles stem from an investigation that started with a domestic violence call on Sept. 3, 2019, in Canyon Country.
After deputies arrived on the scene, Charles is alleged to have fled the scene by getting into a car with his teenage child and driving the wrong way on Highway 14, eventually crashing head-on with at least one other vehicle — then running, along with his child, across four lanes of the highway to Soledad Canyon Road, where he was hit by a car, officials said.
The teen was not physically injured in the incident, according to officials.
Thomas Hearn
A man accused of attacking a good Samaritan at a Newhall Metrolink Station last year returned to court on Tuesday.
Thomas Hearn, 23, a reportedly homeless man who lives in Santa Clarita, was accused in fall 2020 in connection with an alleged attack on a man who was reportedly trying to break up an apparent fight between Hearn and a woman who was with him at the Metrolink station.
The woman involved then filed a report with SCV Sheriff’s Station officials the following day regarding the October incident. Hearn turned himself in to authorities soon after Oct. 5.
The good Samaritan suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
Hearn is scheduled to return on June 17 for a prelim setting.
