Former officer’s pretrial hearing canceled

A pretrial hearing was canceled Friday for former Huntington Beach Police Officer James Roberts, who is charged with 20 felonies including raping his ex-wife, sodomy, false imprisonment, stalking and assault.

Clerk Laura Hoyle at Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana said Roberts’ attorneys asked to have the pretrial taken off the calendar. Roberts’ trial is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 11 at the Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West in Santa Ana.

Although Roberts was fired by the city, his ex-wife filed a lawsuit alleging the Police Department covered for Roberts and refused to take reports or action when she called to report incidents of violence against her.

The city attorney’s office recently filed its latest response to the lawsuit, saying the ex-wife’s allegations are not based on facts.

—Mona Shadia