Morgan Hill City Councilman Larry Carr’s April 18 hearing on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge was delayed at South County Courthouse.
Carr’s attorney requested the hearing, scheduled for a pre-trial conference, be postponed because the attorney is involved in another trial, according to Santa Clara County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Vishal Bathija. The pre-trial conference was postponed to 9am June 15 at the Morgan Hill courthouse on Diana Avenue.
Carr, 49, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of domestic battery, which carries a maximum sentence of a $2,000 fine or one year in county jail, or both.
The charge stems from a Nov. 25, 2017 incident involving his girlfriend of 11 years, with whom he shared a home in downtown Morgan Hill at the time.
Morgan Hill Police responded to the couple’s residence that evening, and arrested Carr after taking statements from him and his girlfriend. The woman told police, during a lengthy verbal argument, that Carr “ripped the glasses from her face and threw them to the ground, causing them to break,” and pulled her hair in the process, according to the police report of the investigation.
Carr told police at the time that any contact he made with his girlfriend during the argument was accidental. He has continued to deny the allegations since his arrest.
The victim did not exhibit any injuries or indicate a complaint of pain, according to police.
Carr—who is currently serving in his fifth term as a Morgan Hill councilmember—was convicted of a similar misdemeanor charge in 2015, in relation to an incident at the couple’s previous home March 23. Carr pleaded no contest to domestic battery and completed a 16-week counseling program. The court later dismissed the charge from his record, at Carr’s formal request. Carr has also denied acting violently in that incident, and he pleaded no contest to avoid prolonged court proceedings.
If Carr is convicted of the 2017 charge, the court can consider the 2015 conviction as a prior offense in his sentencing, according to authorities.
