Man facing gun charges in Folsom school incidents appears in federal court
A Folsom man facing federal and state weapons charges stemming from incidents at two schools in Folsom appeared briefly in U.S. District Court in Sacramento on Thursday afternoon before paperwork and other delays led to a postponement of his hearing.
Curt Michael Taras, 53, was arrested Wednesday by the FBI and held in Sacramento County Main Jail on federal charges of possessing a firearm in a school zone.
Taras had been scheduled to make his first court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sean C. Riordan on Thursday to discuss the charges against him and whether he should continue to be detained as the case plays out.
He entered the courtroom squinting and looking slightly disheveled, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit. He nodded at a TV reporter sitting in the courtroom before taking his place at the defense table.
Taras had already been arrested twice by police in Folsom, the first time in late September when he allegedly carried a knife on campus after saying he was looking for “sniper points” at the high school. Police found a weapon and a high-capacity magazine in his car nearby.
Then, on Monday, he allegedly walked onto the campus of Sandra J. Gallardo Elementary School, also in Folsom, in violation of a court order and was later arrested and released on bail.
Taras was charged by Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho with several state felonies, including making criminal threats, possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle, possessing a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school and bringing a knife onto school grounds. He was also charged with violating a court order in connection with the incident at the high school that banned him from going to other schools.
He was released on bail and scheduled to appear in Sacramento Superior Court on Thursday afternoon. That hearing was put on hold after his arrest by the FBI for allegedly possessing a firearm in a school zone.
But by the time of his hearing in federal court on Thursday afternoon, paperwork had not yet been filed in the case, and Taras had neither seen the charges against him or spoken with his attorney about them, public defender Rachelle Barbour said in court. In addition, Barbour said, Taras had hired his own attorney, Matthew Taylor, who would not be available until Friday.
Riordan rescheduled Taras’ hearing for 2 p.m. Friday in federal court. It was not immediately clear when he would next appear in Sacramento Superior Court on the state charges because of the federal hold. Taras was scheduled to appear Wednesday in Superior Court to answer to the allegation that he violated the court order but those proceedings were continued to Friday morning. It was not clear whether he would be able to appear because of the hold.
His case marks the second time in recent weeks that federal officials have arrested and charged a defendant who was already facing similar charges in state court.
On Thursday, Anibal “Al” Hernandez Santana was slated to appear in Sacramento Superior Court on charges stemming from the shooting outside ABC 10’s studios in Upper Land Park but did not appear. A deputy outside the courtroom told reporters that Hernandez Santana would not be brought to court and the arraignment was continued.
Previous attempts to have Hernandez Santana appear in Superior Court were blocked by the hold placed in the federal case.
The Bee’s Rosalio Ahumada contributed to this story.
