SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― A man who stopped traffic on Northern California’s busiest bridge after he allegedly threatened to blow up the span has pleaded not guilty.
Craig Carlos-Valentino was arrested after an hourlong standoff on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge last Thursday. Authorities found no explosives in his SUV.
Authorities say Carlos-Valentino pulled over on the bridge’s upper deck with his 16-year-old daughter in the car. During the standoff, he waved a weapon in the air, then threw it in the water. He says it was a pellet gun.
Authorities described the 51-year-old Antioch man as mentally unstable, saying he was stressed by family problems.
The Contra Costa Times reports that Carlos-Valentino faces multiple charges, including kidnapping, child endangerment and making a false bomb threat. He’s being held on $750,000 bail.
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