CA Man Ordered To Stand Trial In Northridge Girl's Kidnapping
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) — A man charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 10-year-old Northridge girl has been ordered to stand trial.
A judge on Wednesday said 32-year-old Tobias Dustin Summers, who has pleaded not guilty to 38 counts, will return to court Oct. 30.
Daniel Martinez, who is accused of being an accomplice, also was ordered to stand trial.
Summers was picked up by FBI agents in April in a Mexican village where he'd checked himself into a rehabilitation facility under a fake name.
Authorities had sought him for nearly a month after he and Martinez allegedly kidnapped the girl from her bedroom in her Northridge home in March.
She was then dropped off near a hospital.
KCAL9's Dave Lopez reports on the gruesome details about the kidnapping revealed during a preliminary hearing Wednesday.
LAPD Detective Carla Zuniga took the stand, describing in explicit detail what the 10-year-old told told her of the sex acts and threats she received.
"She was in the bedroom and a man pointed a knife at her throat and told her to come with him," Zuniga said.
"She said she was scared to death, half asleep, and everything was kind of confusing."
Summers' defense attorney Jeff Yanuck said that it was his desire to end the case without a trial and that his client was willing to plead guilty in exchange for a 50-year deal.
"There was an offer extended to Mr. Summers but it was an offer that came from the defense and it was in my opinion accepted by the people. A 50-year offer," Yanuck said.
Prosecutor Laura Jackson said she has no comment about the possible plea bargain. The D.A.'s office also declined to comment.
If convicted, Summers could get life behind bars.
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