Newspaper Co-Owner Pleads Not Guilty
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The co-owner of the Antelope Valley Press newspaper pleaded not guilty Friday to assault, cocaine possession and other charges stemming from a May 16 incident in which he allegedly forced a telephone company worker to leave the front of his Palmdale home at gunpoint.
William W. Odett, 45, who remains free on $20,000 bail, entered the plea before Lancaster Superior Court Judge Charles Horan.
The judge canceled an arrest warrant he had ordered earlier in the day after Odett missed the first call for his case.
The next hearing is Oct. 18.
At Horan’s order, the bailiff also checked Odett to determine whether he appeared to be under the influence of drugs, but the bailiff found no such indication.
Odett is accused of threatening to shoot a telephone book delivery woman and of possessing 1.67 grams of cocaine.
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