Man pleads not guilty to threatening girlfriend prior to police standoff

After prompting a police standoff, the man accused of threatening to stab his girlfriend pleaded not guilty to all charges Thursday afternoon at Kern County Superior Court.

Mauro Zepeda Gonzalez, 45, was charged with one felony count of threatening with the intent to terrorize, and two misdemeanors: one count of spousal battery and one of resisting arrest. Deputy public defender John Hamilton pleaded not guilty to all the charges on Zepeda Gonzalez’s behalf.

Zepeda Gonzalez appeared in court Thursday in Kern County Sheriff’s Office custody. During the hearing, he was assisted by a Spanish-language interpreter.

According to a news release sent by the Bakersfield Police Department, Zepeda Gonzalez threatened Monday to kill his girlfriend with a knife at a home in the 600 block of South Haley Street.

The victim was able to escape the house, reported Sgt. Eric Celedon, BPD’s public information officer, who noted the victim suffered minor abrasions on both of her hands.

Celedon said the difference between misdemeanor spousal battery and felony spousal battery is traumatic physical injuries, such as broken bones.

After the victim fled, Zepeda Gonzalez reportedly barricaded himself in the house. Celedon said BPD officers called in English and Spanish for him to come out of the house.

Celedon said BPD then established a perimeter around the house and officers used minor force to remove Zepeda Gonzalez from the home but that he was bitten by one of BPD’s dogs.

Zepeda Gonzalez will be represented by the Public Defender’s Office. His pre-preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 1. He is being held on $35,000 bail and is ordered to stay away from the alleged victim.