Ainsworth Arraigned for November Escape

Maurice Ainsworth, who escaped sheriff’s custody in late November 2010 and spurned a five-hour manhunt, was in Santa Cruz County Superior Court on Tuesday morning.

Ainsworth sat in court in orange-and-white jail garb after the courtroom had been cleared of previous defendants.

District Attorney Celia Rowland said her office planned to file an amended complaint by the end of the week in response to the demurrer entered by Ainsworth’s attorney during his Dec. 17, 2010, arraignment.  The demurrer essentially means Garver alleges the points are irrelevant to the case, or the charges are too vague.

Ainsworth entered not-guilty pleas on four of the 29 charges against him during the arraignment.

The 29 charges against Ainsworth stem from a Nov. 29, 2010, incident. Ainsworth allegedly overpowered a sheriff's deputy, escaped from her custody and took her stun gun and handgun. He used the Taser against her and fired the handgun at a hospital employee, who escaped unharmed, before fleeing into the surrounding area. Ainsworth allegedly fled to a day-care center near the hospital, where he held the gun to the head of a teacher and took the teacher's car keys. He later broke into two houses on English Drive, taking two people hostage before ingesting prescription medications and being remanded into custody.

Ainsworth was also in court to address a 2009 incident in which he was allegedly involved—and the reason he was in custody for more than a year.

His co-defendant in a 2009 Boulder Creek home invasion robbery case, Jyler Raines, also appeared in court Tuesday. Raines requested a continuance to search for a new attorney. Burdick told Raines he has two weeks to hire his own attorney before the court finds on for him.

Both Raines and Ainsworth are scheduled to return to court on Jan. 25.