Reseda Man Pleads Innocent in Attack

An 18-year-old Reseda man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to attempted murder and robbery charges in an attack on a 74-year-old neighbor.

After entering his plea, Eric Andrew Serin was ordered held in county jail in lieu of $650,000 bail, despite an order last week by San Fernando juvenile court Judge Morton Rochman that Serin be detained in juvenile hall while awaiting trial.

Rochman last week found Serin unfit to be tried as a juvenile, although Serin was 17 at the time of the Dec. 29 robbery and beating of Edith Aline Rose.

Outside the courtroom, Serin’s attorney, Ira Salzman, said he was disappointed with the ruling by Van Nuys Municipal Judge Leland Harris, and said he will fight it again during a May 15 hearing.

“We feel it is in Eric’s best interest to be housed in a juvenile facility,” said Salzman, who previously has said his client has psychological problems. “It’s my position that Judge Rochman has the authority to make such an order.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert L. Cohen disagreed.

“He is an adult now and he should be handled the same as any other adult,” Cohen said.

Within hours of the attack on Rose, Serin was arrested at his job at a fast-food restaurant. Police said he led them to a trash receptacle where they found Rose’s credit cards.

According to police, Serin knocked on Rose’s door and asked for a glass of water and to use the telephone. After entering the house, Serin pulled out a gun and demanded money, police said. When Rose refused, he began chasing her around the house, punching her and slashing her with a knife, police allege.

He then handcuffed her to a drainpipe in the kitchen and left with less than $10, police said.

A neighbor climbed into Rose’s house through an open window and found her bleeding but conscious. Rose described her attacker to police as a neighborhood boy whom she recognized because he often rode his bicycle past her home while she was gardening.