A man accused of committing domestic violence and sexual battery at an apartment in San Marcos pleaded not guilty Monday to a half-dozen charges, including kidnapping and false imprisonment.
Garth Clem, 37, was ordered held on $150,000 bail.
The defendant was taken into custody in the 600 block of South Twin Oaks Valley Road last Tuesday, according to San Diego County sheriff‘s Sgt. Paul Michalke.
Around 8:15 that night, deputies were asked to do a welfare check at an apartment in the area, and once there, they heard a woman screaming and a witness directed them to an apartment, Michalke said.
The screaming victim met deputies at the front door and was taken to a local hospital so she could be treated for injuries she suffered in a domestic violence assault, he said, adding that Clem was taken into custody inside the apartment with the help of a police dog.
“It was later determined there were two additional victims of a sexual battery,” Michalke said without elaboration.
Clem will be back in court March 10 for a readiness conference and March 12 for a preliminary hearing. He faces up to nine years and eight months in state prison if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney Natalie Villaflor.
— City News Service
