LAKEPORT — A judge Thursday ordered Andrew J. Serrano to answer for a majority of the charges against him stemming from alleged incidents involving his estranged wife last year.
Judge Richard C. Martin announced his decision Thursday afternoon at the Lake County Courthouse following a two-day preliminary hearing.
Serrano, 39, of Kelseyville was charged with 10 felonies, four misdemeanors and more than a dozen special allegations for a reported pattern of harassment from mid-spring until late summer.
The most serious counts stemmed from a September incident during which Serrano allegedly beat and threatened his estranged wife, Lesa Serrano, and shot a man, William Turner, who accompanied the woman as she retrieved belongings from the former family residence on Big Valley Road in Kelseyville.
Lesa Serrano, who testified Thursday, said she and Serrano married more than 18 years ago but are now legally separated. They have three sons, she added.
Martin ruled the prosecution had established the “strong suspicion” standard for the seven felony counts associated with the shooting incident.
Four of the felonies — attempted murder, aggravated mayhem, simple mayhem and assault with a firearm — pertained to Turner”s injuries. Martin ordered Serrano to answer for all special allegations associated with those counts.
The remaining three counts alleged Lesa Serrano as the victim. They were inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, making criminal threats and falsely imprisoning.
Martin said there was not sufficient evidence to hold Serrano to answer for an allegation of imposing great bodily injury on his estranged wife during the commission of the three felonies. Several other special allegations connected to those counts were upheld.
Serrano was also ordered to answer for three felonies and two misdemeanors for a July incident during which he allegedly followed his estranged wife, rammed her vehicle and left the scene.
The last two misdemeanors for which Serrano could stand trial accused him of making harassing phone calls to the woman in May.
In addition to Lesa Serrano, the prosecution called more than a handful of witnesses Wednesday and Thursday, including Turner and law enforcement officials.
Serrano”s arraignment is set for March 5 at 8:15 a.m. in Department 3. A trial date could be scheduled that day.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
