Morgan Hill City Councilman Larry Carr will next appear in court April 18 for a pre-trial conference on a domestic battery charge, according to authorities.
Carr, 49, had a hearing March 19 at South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill, but it was postponed because his attorney could not be present, according to Santa Clara County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Vishal Bathija. He is next scheduled to appear in court at 1:30pm April 18.
At a hearing in February, Carr pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge of domestic battery.
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 had 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.
