Jenna Bordelon
CIVIC CENTER -- Felony and misdemeanor charges against a Burbank man
police said was a third-strike offender had to be refiled after the man
did not show up for his arraignment.
James Odell Neihart, 41, was being held on multiple charges, including
rape, kidnapping and false imprisonment stemming from his Nov. 21 arrest
on suspicion of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend at knifepoint and confining
her in his apartment.
The woman told police Neihart raped and beat her before she could
escape.
A mix-up between the county jail and the Burbank courthouse caused the
arraignment delay, correctional facility officials said.
Neihart was scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 27 in Burbank Superior
Court, but never arrived.
"We never got the information that he was supposed to go," Twin Towers
Correctional Facility Lt. Judi Carlson said.
Det. Matthew Miranda said missed arraignments are not a regular
occurrence.
"I personally don't know if he was ill or playing shenanigans,"
Miranda said. "Normally we book them, they stay here [in the Burbank city
jail] and we take them to court."
Due to a medical condition, Neihart was transferred to the Twin Towers
Correctional Facility in Los Angeles immediately following his arrest.
Police said he had taken an overdose of sleeping pills just prior to
his arrest. He was unconscious when officers from the special enforcement
detail broke into his friend's apartment in the 200 block of West Linden
Avenue.
According to a police department news release, Neihart has an
"extensive violent criminal history and is facing a third-strike charge."
The case was dismissed Nov. 30 pending resubmission. Neihart was
arraigned again Friday and pleaded guilty to six felony and misdemeanor
charges, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County
District Attorney's Office.
The charges against Neihart included one for elder abuse, for
allegedly beating his mother.
A preliminary hearing will be held Dec. 11 in Burbank Superior Court.
Neihart was being held in county jail on more than $1 million bail.
