LAKEPORT— Leopoldo Gutierrez Bravo, 26, of Kelseyville, was present and in custody for a settlement conference at the Lake County Superior Courthouse.
The defendant entered a nolo plea to Count 1 – (felony charge of carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle). A nolo plea is also referred to as a plea of no contest. A no-contest plea is technically not a guilty plea, but is has the same immediate effect as a guilty plea and can be offered as a part of a plea bargain.
The Court accepted the defendant’s plea – along with a plea form that was incorporated as part of the docket.
The remainder of the charges have been dismissed on the motion of the People.
Bravo had been charged with eleven felony counts: carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle, four counts of carrying a concealed weapon, grand theft auto, receiving stolen property, two counts of a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing a firearm as a firearm-prohibited person (condition of probation), and possession of ammunition by a prohibited person.
During the preliminary hearing in October, Sterling Thayer, the attorney representing the defendant, requested a continuance as there was outstanding discovery to be provided by Lisa O’Brien, the prosecuting attorney.
The defendant waived time and entered a 10-day rule time waiver.
Following the request of the defendant, the Court ordered the preliminary hearing to be continued to Oct. 28.
During that preliminary hearing, Defense Attorney Thayer requested a continuance as he had not received the previously requested video from prosecuting attorney Obrien.
The Court granted Mr. Thayer’s request and continued the preliminary hearing to November.
The charges stem from an incident last month when Lake County sheriff’s deputies arrested Bravo after learning of a warrant for his arrest and finding a stolen handgun in a truck deputies say he had driven to the Robinson Rancheria Casino.
A deputy had arrived at the Robinson Rancheria Casino for an unrelated call.
Soon thereafter, the deputy came into contact with Bravo. After checking his records, the deputy arrested Bravo and determined he was on probation and had a narcotics-related felony warrant for his arrest from Los Angeles County.
According to the sheriff’s office, Bravo initially led deputies to a vehicle he had falsely claimed was his in the Robinson Rancheria parking lot. By reviewing camera surveillance footage from the casino, deputies discovered Bravo had in fact driven a red Dodge pickup to the property, and Bravo was carrying the key to that truck on his person.
Searching the Dodge, deputies found a loaded .38 caliber semi-automatic handgun. Bravo later admitted he’d driven the truck to the casino, but denied knowledge of the handgun inside it, the sheriff’s office said. The handgun had previously been reported stolen in Lake County.
The sheriff’s office later determined Bravo to be “a validated gang member with a history of weapons and narcotics violations,” and booked him at 3:41 a.m. into the Lake County Jail on suspicion of three felonies related to being a felon and a criminal gang member carrying a stolen, loaded firearm in public.
Bravo, who is listed by the sheriff’s office as a cashier from Kelseyville who was born in Salinas, was still in custody at the jail on a $110,000 bond.
This matter has been referred to the Lake County Probation Department for the preparation of a pre-sentencing report and recommendation.
The defendant is order to appear at his sentencing hearing this week.
