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Nevada County judge upholds kidnapping, false imprisonment charges; tosses torture and robbery accusations

Alan Riquelmy
ariquelmy@theunion

A Nevada County judge has found probable cause in the kidnapping case of Layla Callahan and David Munoz, advancing the pair toward trial, officials said.

Superior Court Judge Linda Sloven in her ruling this week found enough evidence to hold both Callahan, 22, and Munoz, 25, on charges of kidnapping for extortion and false imprisonment by force. She determined that there wasn’t enough evidence against the pair on charges of robbery and torture, District Attorney Cliff Newell said in an email.

“Our office is fine with the ruling and the charges they were held to answer on,” Newell said.



The pair is next scheduled to appear Aug. 28 in court for an arraignment on their charges.

“I’m feeling really good that the torture and the robbery were found to have insufficient evidence,” said Zenia Gilg, Callahan’s defense attorney. “I think it put the case in a different posture.”



Defense attorney Greg Klein, who represents Munoz, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Callahan and Munoz were accused in February that they held a former boyfriend of Callahan’s hostage at his home over a drug debt. Duct taped at night and beaten, the man was released at some point and went to police, authorities said.

The pair appeared before Sloven for their preliminary hearing over several days, with Sloven issuing her decision on Tuesday, Aug. 15.


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