Pacifica man who attacked testifying witness in court enters no contest plea

Cereghino’s recent legal troubles began when he was charged with assault and assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly attacking two victims in Pacifica on Oct. 15, 2017, according to prosecutors. Then, almost eight months later, on June 11, Cereghino attended his preliminary hearing at the courthouse in South San Francisco. The two victims he allegedly attacked in Pacifica were scheduled to testify.

The first victim testified without incident, but when the second witness testified, Cereghino screamed, charged the witness stand and punched the victim in the head three to four times, according to prosecutors.

Pacifica police Detective Ryan Bianculli, the investigating officer on the case, was in the courtroom at the time of the attack and managed to subdue Cereghino, prosecutors said. Deputies with the San Mateo Sheriff’s Office arrested Cereghino and took him to a holding cell. Amid the confusion, a court bailiff tripped over a cord in the courtroom and suffered an injury to his knee.

At the time of the courtroom attack, Cereghino had been out of custody on $35,000 bail. Following the in-court attack, he was booked into the county jail.

Cereghino’s attorney with the Private Defender Program declared doubt that he was mentally competent to stand trial, according to prosecutors. As a result, criminal proceedings were suspended and Cereghino was ordered to return to court to begin proceedings to determine his competency. The court appointed two doctors to evaluate Cereghino’s competency to stand trial and in August, both doctors concluded that he was competent to stand trial.

Cereghino remains in jail on $50,000 bail, prosecutors said.

The conditions of his no-contest plea that he entered Tuesday include no state prison sentence, up to a year in jail and referral to the Pathways Mental Health Treatment Court.