Former candidate arrested for striking elderly man on school campus

Courtesy V.C. Sheriff's Department Jose Magdaleno A candidate in this May's Moorpark City Council race was arrested on charges of hitting and threatening an elderly man at Mesa Verde Middle School last week.

The incident, which involved 47yearold Jose Magdaleno, occurred around 7:45 a.m., Thurs., June 11.

According to police reports, Magdaleno, a onetime maintenance worker, went to the campus to solicit support from a former co-worker in an attempt to get his job back. When the 71year-old school employee didn't answer favorably, Magdaleno allegedly began to threaten the victim and then struck him.

At one point, according to police, Magdaleno made a death threat.

The older man sustained minor swelling and bruising, but no major injuries, said Capt. Ron Nelson of the police department.

Magdaleno, one of seven candidates in May's special election for City Council, left the campus before authorities arrived, but he turned himself in later that day.

"We got a hold of him by phone and talked him into coming to the station," Nelson said.

According to Moorpark Unified School District officials, Magdaleno was hired as a maintenance worker in September 1989 and was terminated on Oct. 31, 2005. The circumstances surrounding his termination in 2005 were not disclosed.

Magdaleno, who was booked on $55,000 bail, pled not guilty in court June 15 to charges of elder abuse and making criminal threats.The judge reduced his bail to $15,000 and the case was continued to July 1, but Magdaleno was still in the main county jail Thursday morning.

Magdaleno ran for a City Council seat in November 2008, and again during the special election in May.

Ventura County Superior Court records show that Magdaleno has had a previous encounter with the law. He was convicted of a misdemeanor in 2006 for brandishing a deadly weapon and disturbing the peace during an incident at a local karate studio in which Magdaleno allegedly threatened an instructor with a sword.

According to Moorpark City Clerk Debbie Traffenstedt, anyone who is a registered voter and lives within the city limits can run for City Council in Moorpark. California residents are only barred from voting if they're in jail or on parole for a felony offense.

—Sylvie Belmond