VENTURA : Man Denies Stalking, Beating Ex-Girlfriend
A volunteer Ventura High School assistant wrestling coach pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he stalked and beat his former girlfriend, an aide to Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria).
Judge Lawrence Storch set an April 18 trial for Steven Padilla, 39.
Padilla faces eight counts of violating a restraining order, one count of spousal battery with traumatic injury, one count of battery and one count of stalking.
Prosecutors say he committed the crimes after O’Connell aide Larraine Sanchez ended their relationship last fall. After that, Padilla broke into the woman’s Ventura residence on numerous occasions between Nov. 29 and Feb. 8 and assaulted her, prosecutors said.
Padilla is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail and no longer coaches the wrestling team, said Carl Beckel, a defense attorney who represented Padilla until being replaced by the public defender’s office Thursday.
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