Antioch Man Pleads Not Guilty To Bay Bridge Standoff Charges
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) -- An Antioch man who stopped traffic on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge after he allegedly threatened to blow up the span pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges on Monday.
Craig Carlos-Valentino, 52, was arrested last Thursday after an hour-long standoff that halted traffic for miles during the morning commute on Northern California's busiest bridge.
Authorities found no explosives in his SUV, but prosecutors said a stun gun and a replica firearm were recovered from the vehicle.
The California Highway Patrol said Carlos-Valentino pulled over on the bridge's upper deck with his 16-year-old daughter in the car and talked about committing suicide by jumping off the bridge.
During the standoff, he waved a weapon in the air, then threw it in the water. He later claimed it was a pellet gun.
Authorities described Carlos-Valentino as mentally unstable, saying he was stressed by family problems.
According to the CHP, he had complained that his wife of more than 20 years was having an affair and that made him want to commit suicide.
A San Francisco Superior Court judge Monday granted a prosecution request for stay-away orders from Carlos-Valentino's wife and daughter.
During the court hearing, Carlos-Valentino also entered the not guilty pleas to felony charges including kidnapping, child endangerment and making a false bomb threat. He was ordered held on $750,000 bail.
Carlos-Valentino also has a prior conviction for possession of a dangerous weapon in 1978, prosecutors said.
He was scheduled to return to court Nov. 30 for a status hearing on his case.
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