SAN DIEGO : Not-Guilty Plea to Cattle-Prod Torture
A man accused of terrorizing a woman with a cattle prod during a five-hour ordeal Halloween night pleaded not guilty Monday to seven felony counts, including two charges that carry maximum sentences of life in prison.
Coleman Kaplan, 57, is charged with torture and attempted premeditated murder, which carry possible terms of life in prison. He is also charged with false imprisonment with violence, three counts of assault and one count of battery against a former significant other.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Lori Koster said Kaplan lured the woman, whom he had dated, to his Mission Valley apartment on the pretense of attending a party. But once she arrived, her wrists, ankles and knees were bound with rope, the prosecutor said.
Kaplan allegedly used a cattle prod to torture the woman and placed a plastic bag over her head while threatening to rape her, the prosecutor said.
Municipal Judge Robert McDonald scheduled a preliminary hearing for Nov. 23.
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