Sanchez Enters No Pleas in Court Appearance

Murder and rape suspect Vincent Sanchez appeared in a Ventura County courtroom Wednesday but did not enter pleas to 79 criminal charges contained in a massive grand jury indictment handed down this week.

Sanchez, a 30-year-old Simi Valley handyman, is accused of assaulting 15 women over a five-year span. In addition to rape and other charges, he is charged with murder in the shooting death of 20-year-old Moorpark resident Megan Barroso.

During a brief court appearance Wednesday, Sanchez stood behind a caged partition and glanced out at a large crowd that included some of his alleged victims and their families. He did not enter a plea and was ordered to return to court Sept. 19.

Outside the courthouse, Chief Deputy Public Defender Neil Quinn said his client is prepared to plead guilty to some of the sexual assault charges, but not yet.

“The charging process is complex,” Quinn said, explaining that he plans in the next week to file court papers disputing technical flaws in the 34-page indictment.

“Once that process is ironed out,” he said, “I do expect my client to admit culpability.”

Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Lela Henke-Dobroth told reporters she was aware of Quinn’s statements that Sanchez might plead guilty but had not spoken with him about it. She said her office is not offering Sanchez a deal.

The grand jury indicted Sanchez on 79 felony counts, 104 special allegations and three special circumstances, related only to the Barroso slaying, that make him eligible for the death penalty.

The charges include murder, multiple counts of rape, attempted rape, kidnapping, burglary, false imprisonment and carjacking.

According to law enforcement officials, Sanchez terrorized Simi Valley for five years, raping or attempting to rape young women in their homes.

On several occasions, he kidnapped the victims and drove to locations, including his house, where they were raped at knifepoint, according to the indictment.

Authorities suspect Sanchez’s violent conduct escalated to murder with the July 5 slaying of Barroso.

Her rental car was found abandoned and full of bullet holes about a mile from her Moorpark home about 2:30 a.m. Her body was discovered a month later in a remote canyon near Simi Valley.

An autopsy revealed that Barroso died from an assault rifle wound to the abdomen. Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks has said detectives can match an assault rifle found at Sanchez’s home to the killing.

Quinn said Wednesday his client adamantly denies the slaying, attempted sexual assault and kidnapping of Barroso. Those charges are what make Sanchez eligible for the death penalty.

Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek it.

Quinn was asked Wednesday whether he hoped prosecutors would not seek execution if Sanchez pleads guilty to the other charges. He responded by saying that a person in his client’s situation is often portrayed as remorseless.

“Maybe this makes it clear that is not the case,” he said.