VENTURA : Handyman in Fatal Shooting Surrenders
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A 23-year-old handyman who killed a Ventura thrift store owner surrendered to authorities Monday after a judge allowed him to remain free through the New Year’s holiday.
Charles Bothwell of El Rio had failed to show up for a previous court appearance to begin serving a three-year prison sentence for voluntary manslaughter.
Bothwell shot and killed 41-year-old Robert Allen Foster on Sept. 5, claiming the owner of the Starvation Army Store had molested a 14-year-old girl he knew. He was sentenced Nov. 5 to three years in prison, but allowed to remain free until Jan. 3.
On Nov. 29, as police investigated three forgery complaints against him, Bothwell asked Ventura County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch to send him to prison early. Storch set a Dec. 15 court hearing for Bothwell’s surrender, but the defendant failed to show up for the hearing.
At that point, the judge issued an arrest warrant for Bothwell--but suspended the warrant until Jan. 3.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald C. Grant said Monday that the forgery complaints are still being reviewed by prosecutors.
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