A number of suspects accused of having committed crimes in the Santa Clarita Valley returned to court this week, receiving dates to return for future proceedings.
Noel ‘Detail’ Fisher
Noel Fisher, 42, of Stevenson Ranch, was arrested in August of last year and saw 26 charges filed against him including forcible rape, assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, forcible oral copulation, sodomy by use of force and false imprisonment by violence.
He has been ordered to return on Aug. 12 for a continuation of his preliminary hearing. During a preliminary hearing, the judge decides if there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial.
Fisher, 42, also known by his music industry alias “Detail,” is accused of attacking at least 11 women.
Christian Ortiz
Christian Ortiz, 25, was formally arrested on suspicion of murder in the immediate aftermath of his boyfriend, Brayan Rodriguez, 21, disappearing on Sept. 22, 2017.
He is set to return on Aug. 30 for a pretrial hearing. A pretrial hearing involves the judge, prosecution and defense convening in order to present evidence, documents and/or any other relevant materials/matters before the trial begins.
Rodriguez was due to move into his University of San Diego apartment the morning of Sept. 23, but never showed for check-in. In the days following his reported disappearance, community search parties were formed in order to comb the surrounding community and Santa Clara River bed.
On Sept. 24, Rodriguez’s body was found stuffed inside a closet in a house on the 23600 block of Via Valer, and by 3 a.m. Monday, Ortiz had been arrested on suspicion of murder. Autopsy results showed the cause of death to be strangulation.
Marino Giammarco
A Saugus man accused of continuous sexual abuse on a child and of committing lewd acts on a child returned to court on Tuesday.
Marino Daniele Giammarco, 30, appeared in a San Fernando Superior Court room after having been formally charged with two felony counts of committing “lewd and lascivious acts” on a child under the age of 14.
Investigators have alleged that between Aug. 1, 2016, and April 8, 2019, Giammarco committed multiple crimes of sexual abuse on a child under the age of 14, and that he engaged in lewd and lascivious acts on the child.
They also allege that on or about April 9, 2019, Giammarco committed a lewd act on the same child.
He is set to return to court Aug. 25 for a pretrial hearing.
Nicole Thibault
A local woman facing multiple criminal charges, including murder, in connection to a wrong-way traffic collision three years ago returned to court this week.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed a total of 14 different felony counts against Nicole Thibault, 31, with the most severe allegations including murder and assault, after investigators say she purposefully veered into oncoming traffic on Jan. 22, 2018, colliding with a vehicle driven by Daniel Castillo, 69, of Fontana, who was killed.
Thibault is scheduled to return to court once again on Sept. 15 at the Pomona Courthouse South for an arraignment, a hearing where defendants hear the charges levied against them and respond by entering a plea.