Santa Paula : Accused Kidnaper Pleads Not Guilty
A 32-year-old Ventura man accused of robbing and kidnaping the owners of a Santa Paula market pleaded not guilty to four felony charges Monday in Ventura County Superior Court.
Donald Ray Cook faces two counts of kidnaping and two counts of robbery for allegedly kidnaping Hamid and Georgette Kazempour, owners of the Santa Cruz Market in Santa Paula, on March 25.
Prosecutors allege that Cook hid in the back seat of the couple’s van as they closed up shop and robbed them of several thousand dollars at gunpoint before escaping in another vehicle.
But Deputy Public Defender Howard J. Asher said police and the victims identified the wrong man. “It’s a case of mistaken identity,” he said.
Cook was arrested by Ventura County sheriff’s investigators June 24 after Santa Paula police identified him as a suspect in the robbery, according to jail records. He was released on July 15 after posting $10,000 bail.
No one was injured in the robbery, and most of the money was recovered, a police spokesman said. A jury trial is scheduled Oct. 12.
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