MOORPARK : Not Guilty Plea in Vehicular Attack Case

A 65-year-old Moorpark man pleaded not guilty in a Ventura County Superior Court on Wednesday to charges that he tried to run over a city code enforcement officer in front of his cluttered home.

Facing a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, Gerald Goldstein pleaded not guilty but allowed the court to put off his preliminary hearing for more than two weeks while specialists evaluate his mental health.

Goldstein is accused of running his truck at a code enforcement officer who was accompanied by two sheriff’s deputies in early September, while they were attempting to clean up his Beltramo Ranch Road mobile home. He is not charged with assaulting the deputies. The home had become so cluttered with newspapers, magazines and assorted found objects that Goldstein had been living in his truck for several months, friends said.

Defense attorney Louis Samonsky said that Goldstein is obviously very bright and well spoken but that he is concerned about Goldstein’s mental health.

“I want to evaluate his mental well-being and review the case before I decide which way to proceed,” Samonsky said.

The preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 28 at 9 a.m.