Three men accused of committing SCV felonies return to court, receiving future dates to appear before a judge once again.
Monolito Guerra
A Newhall man accused of shooting a deputy in the neck while out on parole returned to court on Friday.
Monolito Guerra, 33, is accused of having shot Deputy Albert White at an apartment complex on Bottletree Lane Nov. 28, 2017, before being shot himself. Both Guerra and White would be taken to the hospital, and both would survive their injuries.
He is set to return on Jan. 7 for a prelim setting. During a prelim setting, the judge and opposing counsels agree on a date for a preliminary hearing — when the bench decides whether there’s enough evidence for the case to go to trial.
At the time of the incident, Guerra was on parole after serving two years in jail. A little over a month after his release, he was shot multiple times in a shootout with SCV Sheriff’s Station deputies.
White suffered a “through-and-through” wound, meaning the bullet left an entry and exit wound, and though he was initially hospitalized and listed in critical condition, he returned to work in 2018 after recovering from the injury.
Guerra was hospitalized with non-life-threatening wounds following the shooting, being first taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and then the USC Medical Center on Dec. 10, 2017.
He is being held in lieu of $5.75 million bail.
Jorge Panama
A Newhall massage therapist accused of multiple sexual assaults saw a continuance of his case in a San Fernando courtroom on Friday.
Jorge Panama, 56, has been accused by at least a half-dozen women of assaulting them where he worked, at “Massage Plus Healing” on the 22000 block of Lyons Avenue, according to sheriff’s officials.
Panama was initially arrested on suspicion of an April 2021 allegation involving a former client, who was Panama’s second client to allege an assault.
Panama is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 6 for a prelim setting.
Three years ago, a woman had reported to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station that Panama had assaulted her at his massage parlor. In the 2018 incident, charges were not filed by L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey due to insufficient evidence, according to detectives.
Nicolas Morales
A former rideshare driver accused of having committed multiple rapes and other sex offenses, and alleged to have used a knife during a handful of his of alleged crimes, returned to court last week.
Nicolas Morales, 47, of Canyon Country, is charged with nine counts of forcible oral copulation; six counts of rape; five counts of sodomy by use of force; four counts of sexual penetration by foreign object; and one count each of assault with intent to commit a felony, attempted sodomy by use of force and attempted kidnapping to commit another crime.
He is scheduled to return once again on Dec. 3 for a pretrial conference. Pretrial conferences are used for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to: establishing a timeline for concluding all pre-trial activities and possibly setting a tentative trial date, encouraging the settlement of cases, counsel trying to agree on undisputed facts or points of law and more.
According to investigators, Morales posed as a rideshare driver, and then used a knife in the commission of a number of his crimes. Investigators have claimed he is responsible for raping more than a half-dozen women.
Morales was arrested in Alhambra on Feb. 23, 2019, by officers of the Alhambra Police Department, court records show.
