Nephrologist Mohamad Moutaz Almawaldi, 57, of Lakeport recently appeared in court and was not in custody as Defense Attorney Roy Miller requested a continuance. There was no objection – negotiations are ongoing.
In April of last year the defendant pled not guilty to a sexual battery charge.
The charge stems from his arrest last February after allegedly sexually assaulting a co-worker last year.
According to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Corey Paulich, a report was initially made on Aug. 9, 2017, to the LCSO that Almawaldi had committed the assault. A female victim, who worked in the doctor’s Lakeport office, reportedly told deputies Almawaldi forcefully kissed her and pulled down her shirt.
The District Attorney filed a complaint with the Lake County Superior Court, and the Court issued an arrest warrant for Almawaldi in November 2017.
The doctor was arrested and booked into the Lake County jail, with bail set at $20,000 but he later bailed out and is no longer in custody.
During an arraignment on indictment hearing last year, the Court had informed the defendant of an indictment filed against him and a copy of the indictment was given to Almawaldi’s retained defense counsel, Roy Miller.
The trial readiness/settlement conference has been set for March 5 with a master calendar call March 29 – a Jury Trial has been set for April 4 at 8:15 a.m. in a department to be announced.
The previously held warrant for the defendant has been recalled and withdrawn.
