Update // Thursday, March 14, 2013 @ 3:20 p.m.
The man accused of assaulting a teacher at Pierce College was released Wednesday from police custody after a pre-trial hearing at the Van Nuys Municipal Courthouse, according to court officials.
After the hearing, 19-year-old Tyshaun Middleton was released on bail after a nine-day stint in the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles.
Middleton was being held with a bail of $40,000 for several misdemeanor charges including making criminal threats, battery of a teacher, resisting arrest, and vandalism of an LA City Sheriff vehicle.
He was arrested on March 4 after allegedly making death threats, threatening to do bodily harm and assaulting Michael Shilf, an instructor at Pierce, in efforts to get in contact with an ex-girlfriend in the class, according to witnesses.
Middleton’s parents were his only guests in the courtroom audience.
As they waited for their son to be brought out before the judge they left courtroom from time to time to consult with LA County Public Defender Samita Dalal as she received updates about the case.,
“He will be heard today, but we are probably going to put it over,” Dalal said.
His parents were hopeful that their son would be tried and released Wednesday, but they also were adamant that they did not know exactly what happened that day.
“We didn’t read this story in the newspaper, [but] we are expecting that he’ll be released today,” father of the defendant, Tim Middleton, said. “They might give him probation or something.”
Middleton, who was still in jail, never made his way to the courtroom to tell his side of the story, but there have been different accounts of what happened that day.
According to official reports, the incident began when Middleton interrupted Shilf’s class to threaten his ex-girlfriend, who had a restraining order against him.
It was when Middleton attempted to attack his ex-girlfriend that the professor stepped in and was assaulted.
“You know how it is. Everyone sees something different, even if they’re sitting five feet away from each other,” Deputy City Attorney Joshua Geller said.
When police arrived on the scene, Middleton resisted arrest and it took four sheriff’s deputies to finally put him in the car, student Beatriz Sanchez said in a previous Roundup article.
Once officers placed Middleton inside the patrol car, he proceeded to kick out the back window of the vehicle and stick his head out of the car.
His mother was nearly in tears when she saw the pictures of the incident for the first time on theroundupnews.com.
Since the case is still under investigation, public officials would not discuss the case in detail with the Roundup.
“On the heir of confidentiality, I want to keep [the case] confidential,” Dalal said.
She asked for a continuance of the trial, but she did not give a specific reason for her actions at that time.
The commissioner in charge of the trials, Dennis Mulcahy, agreed to give Dalal a brief continuance and quickly moved on to the next case.
Afterward, Middleton was sent back to jail.
City prosecutors were not surprised or upset when Mulcahy made the decision to grant a continuance to the defendant since they were also collecting more information to build a strong case.
“We’re expecting nothing to happen to him today,” Geller said. “I don’t think he’s going to make bail.”
However, after spending a few hours in jail after the hearing, Middleton was released on Wednesday around 2 p.m.
His next court date is set for March 25 at 8:30 a.m. at the Van Nuys Municipal Court.
End of update //
The man who was arrested for assaulting a Pierce College professor will remain in custody after a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday, according to court officials.
Tyshaun Middleton is currently being held with a bail of $40,000 for several charges including making criminals threats and vandalism of an LA City Sherriff vehicle.
“He’s staying in custody, I don’t think he’s going to make bail,” Deputy City Attorney Joshua Geller said.
Middleton was arrested on March 4 after allegedly making death threats, threatening to do bodily harm and assaulting Michael Shilf, an instructor at Pierce College, in efforts to get in contact with an ex-girlfriend in the class.
The trial for Middleton is set to begin on March 25, 2013 at the Van Nuys Municipal Courthouse at 8:30 a.m.
For updates on this case visit theroundupnews.com.