LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Thursday a judge ordered a Clearlake man to stand trial for the attempted murder of a Clearlake Police officer in September.
Daniel Alan York, 53, was held to answer following his Thursday morning preliminary hearing, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe.
Early on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 22, York is alleged to have used his SUV to ram Clearlake Police Officer Tom Riley, who pulled York over at Redbud Park, as Lake County News has reported.
Police said York put his SUV in reverse and slammed into Riley, pinning him up against a Ford pickup and seriously injuring the officer, who was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
York is facing felony charges, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, obstructing or resisting a peace officer, hit and run, vandalism and vehicle theft, and a misdemeanor for failing to register as a controlled substances offender, along with special allegations of vandalism, personal use of a deadly weapon and inflicting great bodily injury.
The District Attorney's Office has estimated that, if convicted, York could face at least 35 years to life in state prison, in part because of a series of previous strikes and prison terms.
Court records showed that York has been convicted of eight felonies in cases stretching back to 1981.
His convictions include bringing drugs into a prison or jail facility and burglary in Alameda County; assault with a firearm and burglary in Lake County; burglary in Nevada County; and burglary, vehicle theft and possession of materials with the intent to manufacture illegal drugs in Sonoma County. The Lake and Nevada county convictions are serious or violent felonies.
Those eight felony convictions also led to York serving seven prior prison terms, according to court records.
York remains in the Lake County Jail, with bail set at $1 million.
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