A 29-year-old man accused of injuring a deputy and barricading himself inside a Canyon Country bedroom with his two young children pleaded not guilty Monday to assault and other felony charges.
Calvin Charles Lynch is facing three counts of assault on a peace officer and two counts each of false imprisonment of a hostage and cruelty to a child by endangering the youngster’s health, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The felony complaint includes knife and great bodily injury allegations against Lynch, who prosecutors say was convicted in 2003 of assault on a peace officer.
A judge set bail at $475,000 and ordered Lynch to return to court on Feb. 4 for a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.
Early on the morning of Jan. 21, Lynch and his wife, who lived with their two children in a Canyon Country apartment in the 26700 block of Isabella Parkway, had a violent domestic dispute, according to prosecutors.
His wife called 911, alleging that she had been assaulted by her husband, who she said was emotionally disturbed, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Lynch, upset that she made the call, allegedly armed himself with a knife and locked himself in a bedroom with their children, ages 3 and 5, using a dresser to block the door.
Deputies from the sheriff’s Santa Clarita Valley Station got the man to crack open the door, and during their conversation, the suspect said “he wanted to die tonight,” according to the Sheriff’s Department.
The man dropped the knife, but would not unblock the door. Prosecutors said Lynch threw a television stand out the window, almost injuring deputies outside. Deputies inside the home then pushed open the door and rushed in.
One of those deputies “was assaulted by the man and aggressively thrust into the wall, causing significant head trauma and injuries to his upper torso,” according to a sheriff’s statement. “Additional deputies at the scene were subsequently able to restrain the man after a brief struggle and take him into custody.”
The children were unhurt.
The injured deputy, whose name was withheld, remains hospitalized in serious condition, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Lynch was also taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries sustained during the struggle with deputies.
If convicted as charged, he faces up to 31 years and eight months in prison.
— City News Service