LAKEPORT, Calif. – The man accused of ramming his vehicle into a police officer last weekend made his first appearance in court on Wednesday.
Daniel Alan York, 53, was arraigned in Lake County Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
York is charged with attempted murder, hit and run, assault with a deadly weapon, evading a peace officer causing serious bodily injury, obstructing or resisting a peace officer and a parole violation for his alleged assault early Sunday morning on Clearlake Police Officer Thomas Riley.
Hinchcliff said York also is alleged to have previous strike convictions, with a criminal record going back to the early 1980s.
He said York has served seven previous prison terms for crimes including burglary, assault with a firearm, auto theft, bringing drugs into a prison or jail facility and possession of material with the intent to manufacture illegal drugs.
Clearlake Police Craig Clausen said Wednesday that Riley was back home and recovering from his injuries.
Riley suffered included broken ribs, a fractured spine, and major head and neck lacerations, according to the police report on the incident.
At around 4:30 a.m. last Sunday, York is alleged to have used his SUV to ram into Riley, who was performing a vehicle stop on York's vehicle at Redbud Park, as Lake County News has reported.
York – who had an outstanding warrant for his arrest – allegedly put his SUV in reverse and slammed into Riley and pinned him up against a Ford pickup. Police said York hit the pickup with such force that it moved several feet, with Riley trapped between the two vehicles.
Riley was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with serious injuries immediately after the incident, police said.
York fled the scene, with his SUV later found abandoned at W. 40th and Lasky avenues. About four hours after the assault on Riley, officers found York in a residence in the 4700 block of West 40th Avenue. Police said he attempted to evade arrest and a police K9 was used to apprehend him.
Police said York was taken to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake for treatment of the injuries he received from the struggle with the K9, which resulted in him not being booked into the jail until Tuesday afternoon.
On Wednesday Hinchcliff successfully requested an increase in York's bail, which now is at $1 million.
York is scheduled to return to court for entry of plea on Tuesday, Oct. 1, Hinchcliff said.
At York's Wednesday court appearance attorney Doug Rhoades was assigned to defend him. Hinchcliff said he's assigned Senior Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe to prosecute York's case.
York is facing at least 35 years to life – with the possibility of much more time – if convicted because of his previous strikes and prison terms, coupled with the seriousness of the charges in this newest case, Hinchcliff said.
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