Man with toy gun gets day in court

A Chula Vista man is expected to stand trial later this month for making a criminal threat and trying to use his girlfriend as a shield during a standoff with police.

The man’s girlfriend and others testified in the May preliminary hearing of Robert David Herdrich, 53, who was also ordered to stand trial for false imprisonment and exhibiting a replica firearm in a threatening manner.

A trial date was set for June 20 by Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Dwayne Moring. The hearing lasted several hours regarding the March 21 incident in the 300 block of Roosevelt St. in Chula Vista.

Neighbors called Chula Vista Police around 8 p.m. after they heard a woman yell “don’t hurt me” repeatedly. Officers with a crisis negotiation team responded, and the woman came outside about two hours later. She was not injured.

The woman told police she thought Herdrich had several guns and a hand grenade. Herdrich was seen holding what was thought to be a weapon, but it turned out to be a toy gun, according to police. No hand grenade or guns were found.

Herdrich walked outside around 11 p.m., but an officer used a taser on him when he refused to comply with commands. Several surrounding apartments were evacuated as a precaution. The woman had obtained a restraining order against him in 2013.

Herdrich has pleaded not guilty and he remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility on $105,000 bail.