New attorney for Turlock man accused of holding girlfriend captive in dog crate

A Turlock man accused of holding his girlfriend captive in a dog crate has agreed to give his newly court-appointed attorney more time to review the case before proceeding to a preliminary hearing.

Frank Deodulo Guerra, 22, made a brief court appearance Tuesday morning. He is charged with kidnapping, battery with serious injury and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Matthew Yeoman, Guerra’s attorney, told the judge that his client has agreed to waive his right to a preliminary hearing in a timely manner. Guerra was scheduled to return to court Friday morning for a pretrial hearing, when the attorneys will have an opportunity to argue over Guerra’s bail. The defendant is being held without bail at the Stanislaus County jail.

The preliminary hearing has not yet been rescheduled.

Deputy District Attorney Beth O’Hara DeJong said she was informed that since his arrest, the defendant had gotten someone else to contact the alleged victim on Facebook. The prosecutor told the judge that the communication was in the form of “intimidating” Facebook posts.

Yeoman told the judge he has not been presented with information that supports the prosecutor’s allegations.

Judge Dawna Reeves on Tuesday warned Guerra not to try to contact the alleged victim, which includes communication through someone else. She told the defendant that violating the court order could affect his upcoming bail-review hearing.

At his arraignment last week, DeJong asked the court to keep Guerra in custody without bail pending his prosecution. She told the judge Guerra forced the woman into a dog crate that measured 30 by 48 inches, with an inside height of 32 inches.

The prosecutor argued the defendant left his then-girlfriend inside the crate hours on end each day while he went to work. The criminal complaint alleges the woman was held captive at times from August into early January.

The victim told authorities she had to urinate into a dog bowl, and he smeared dog feces on her numerous times, according to DeJong. Guerra was arrested after his former girlfriend went to the Turlock Police Department to report the alleged crimes.

The prosecutor has said in court that Guerra bit the woman on her back, and she suffered permanent scarring. The woman reportedly escaped Jan. 4 but didn’t report the crimes until late last month because the defendant asserted power and control over her, DeJong said.

This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 11:44 AM with the headline "New attorney for Turlock man accused of holding girlfriend captive in dog crate."