The sentencing of a local man while she drove him home to Half Moon Bay last Sept. has been postponed, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Thursday.
Half Moon Bay resident Vittorio Vincent Valdez, 27, was scheduled on Thursday morning to receive a pre-sentence report and the imposition of his sentence in county court. The impending sentence is associated with the Sept. 24, 2011 incident during which Valdez allegedly abused and kidnapped his grandmother while in her car during a drive home.
On Thursday morning, Valdez's lawyers reviewed the pre-sentence report and requested that the court hold a full sentencing hearing, according to Wagstaffe.
The court granted the full hearing request and scheduled it to take place on Feb. 8 at 9 a.m., Wagstaffe said.
The defendant was originally facing five different charges and a potential 10 years in prison for the incident, Wagstaffe said in November.
However, by to two of the charges — elder abuse and kidnapping — in court on Nov. 14, Valdez now faces a maximum of four years in prison, according to Wagstaffe.
According to the District Attorney's Office, the two convictions against Valdez are based on his alleged actions during the Sept. 24 incident, when Valdez allegedly pounded on the car's dashboard and pushed his grandmother's right leg down after becoming angry that she was not driving the car fast enough.
Upon arrival in Half Moon Bay, 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, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Later, Deputy Marty from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office reportedly witnessed Valdez driving away on Highway 92 while grabbing his grandmother by the hair and slamming her head against the passenger window several times.
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.
Valdez's grandmother, whose weight was listed in the incident report at 105 lbs., refused medical attention after the incident and said that Valdez never hit her, according to an incident report.
Valdez remains in custody on $50,000 bail.
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