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Crime & Safety

Local Man Charged with Abuse of Grandmother Scheduled in Court Today

Half Moon Bay resident Vittorio Vincent Valdez expected for pretrial conference at San Mateo County Superior Court this afternoon.

A man his 82-year-old grandmother while she drove him back home to Half Moon Bay in September is scheduled to appear in San Mateo County Superior Court today for a pretrial conference, according to the county District Attorney's Office.

Vittorio Vincent Valdez, 27, faces charges of elder abuse, false imprisonment, kidnapping, possession of heroin, a misdemeanor driving on a suspended license and a violation of a court order.

Valdez's case is currently scheduled to go to jury trial on Dec. 5. He will be represented by Rachel Holt, an attorney with the Private Defender Program, according to the District Attorney's Office.

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The charges stem from an incident on Sept. 24 where Valdez allegedly became "angry" at his grandmother because she was driving too slow, "pounded" on the dashboard and "pushed" her right leg down to make the car go faster, according to a report from the District Attorney's office.

The report stated that Valdez allegedly pulled his grandmother out from the driver's seat, "threw" her in the passenger's seat and punched her in the face several times after she tried to leave.

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According to the report, San Mateo County Sheriff's Deputy Marty found .05 grams of heroin in the car's center console after pulling over Valdez.

Deputy Marty pulled Valdez over shortly after seeing Valdez and his grandmother in the car on Highway 92 in Half Moon Bay, the report noted.

Today's pretrial conference will be held at 1:30 p.m. with criminal judge Lisa Novak presiding.

Valdez is currently in custody at San Mateo County jail on $50,000 bail.

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