Bruce Paddock pleads not guilty to child porn charges in L.A. courtroom
10/27/2017 2:28 pm PDT
By Alex Race, KTLA
LOS ANGELES -- (KTLA) -- Bruce Paddock, a younger brother of the Las Vegas mass killer Stephen Paddock, on Friday entered a not guilty plea to felony charges of possession of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child.
Paddock, 58, appeared in front of a Los Angeles Superior Court judge in a downtown courtroom.
He was charged Tuesday with one count of possession of more than 600 images of child pornography, and 19 counts of sexual exploitation of a child. The crimes allegedly occurred between Jan. 1 and Aug. 30, 2014.
He was arrested at an assisted living home on Wednesday after an investigation that police said began before the Oct. 1 shooting in Las Vegas.
At one point during Friday's hearing, Paddock addressed the judge directly, claiming he hadn't been able to contact his attorney since he had been jailed and asked the judge if there was a way that he could reach his attorney. He was represented by a deputy public defender.
The public defender asked that his client be released under ankle monitor surveillance to the assisted living home where he was arrested. He pointed to Paddock's numerous medical concerns – saying he's had four back surgeries and uses a wheelchair. The attorney said Paddock needed to be monitored by medical professionals.
The judge did not grant Paddock his immediate release and said she would need five days to go over the request, saying she'd hold a bail review hearing on Nov. 3. Paddock shook his head in response to the judge's decision.
Los Angeles police say investigators found child pornography at an auto shop located on the 9000 block of San Fernando Road in Sun Valley where Paddock had been squatting. The owner of the shop alleged to KTLA that Paddock had threatened to kill him after squatting in the shop's attic in 2014.
FULL STORY: Bruce Paddock pleads not guilty to child porn charges in L.A. courtroom - KTLA