Enough evidence exists to set a trial date for an ex-Napan accused of resisting arrest by Napa-area police on Nov. 10, a Napa County judge said.
Napa County Superior Court Judge Mark Boessenecker made that ruling at a preliminary hearing Thursday for Kyle Perez, 29, a graduate of New Technology High School in Napa who now lives in Southern California.
Perez will be arraigned May 24 on three counts of felony resisting arrest, according to Napa County Assistant District Attorney Scott Young. Young said a single charge of misdemeanor battery of a police officer will not go forward in the court process.
The trial date will be set after the arraignment, Young said.
Young said testimony at Thursday's preliminary hearing included that from the arresting officer, Napa County Sheriff's Deputy Erik Olson.
Olson arrested Perez on suspicion of the four charges after a routine traffic stop on West Imola Avenue on Nov. 10 turned into an incident between Perez and multiple police.
Perez has maintained, through his spokesman John Hoellwarth, that the charges were "frivilous" and that police acted with brutality in restraining him and in shooting him with a taser.
He turned down a plea offer Wednesday to dismiss the felony charges and plead only to the misdemeanor charge because, according to Hoellwarth, "only a complete dismissal of all charges is just, and (Perez) is prepared to go to court to see that justice prevails."
According to Young's summary of Olson's testimony, Olson said Thursday that he initially stopped Perez in Napa to check on expired car registration tags. During the stop, Olson said he smelled alcohol and marijuana, and asked Perez to get out of the car.
Perez refused to get out of the car. When several officers pulled him out, he resisted, Olson testified, according to Young's summary.
"It took a couple officers to restrain him," Young said Thursday. He confirmed that a taser had been used on Perez to place him under arrest.
"The court found that the officers did their lawful duty and acted appropriately when he would not cooperate," Young said in summarizing Boessenecker's decision to go forward with the trial.
Perez, in a statement made through Hoellwarth early last week, strongly disagreed.
"The officer who pulled me over for allegedly having expired registration ran the plates before he came to my window," Perez said. "He knew it was a rental car, yet he still comported himself as frighteningly eager to instigate a violent confrontation.
"I was terrified to get out of my vehicle because of what he might do, and my fears were absolutely justified," Perez said in the statement.
"I was tased, kicked, beaten to a pulp, and slapped with erroneous charges as a reverse justification for the whole thing," Perez added "It's like adding insult to injury and then serving the whole absurd mess unapologetically cold."
Perez acted as his own attorney at the preliminary hearing Thursday.
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