Father Pleads Not Guilty in Balcony Jump

A Burbank man, who struggled in midair with police and firemen fighting to keep him from jumping off a third-floor balcony with his infant daughter, has been charged with attempted murder and felony child endangerment.

Rodolfo Regaldo, 31, was hanging over his apartment balcony dangling his 4-month-old daughter, screaming in Spanish, “I’m going to let her go,” before Burbank police and firefighters grabbed him and the falling baby, said Burbank Police Detective Eric Rosoff.

Regaldo on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to the charges in Burbank Municipal Court. He also faces charges of felony spouse abuse and assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly attacking his wife, Yolanda, 33, with a knife during a fight immediately before the Dec. 22 incident.

The couple had been having marital difficulties, Rosoff quoted Regaldo as saying. The baby and the couple’s three other children were placed in the custody of the Department of Social Services pending a hearing into whether they should be returned to their mother, Rosoff said.

Regaldo, a Burbank auto body shop employee, remained in County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail and was under a suicide watch, Rosoff said.

If convicted of the charges, he would face up to 10 years in prison, said Sharon Matsumoto, head of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s Glendale office. Regaldo has no previous police record, Rosoff said.

Meanwhile, the Burbank City Council plans to honor city firefighter Ron Pearlman, who caught the baby as Regaldo was grabbed by two police officers, at its meeting Jan. 8, said Ken Whittekind, administrative officer for the Burbank Fire Department. Pearlman was on vacation and could not be reached for comment.

Reeve Richard and Dave Decker, the Burbank police officers who grabbed Regaldo, are also being considered for special commendations, Police Capt. David P. Newsham said.

Police were called to the apartment in the 2300 block of N. Naomi Street at about 3:30 p.m. by Regaldo’s wife, who said that her husband had threatened to stab her during an argument.

The officers found Regaldo sitting on the balcony guardrail with his daughter, saying he was going to jump and kill himself and the child.

Spanish-speaking police officers tried for 10 minutes to persuade Regaldo to return to the balcony. When he went over the narrow railing, Richard and Decker grabbed Regaldo as he dropped while Pearlman caught the falling baby.