A Lompoc man has been charged with being an accessory to murder in connection with the death of 18-year-old Sarah Stoffle.
Robert James Scott, 23, appeared in Santa Maria Superior Court on Wednesday for his arraignment hearing after reportedly being arrested on Saturday.
Stoffle was found dead after Lompoc police officers were dispatched at approximately 11:15 a.m. March 25 to a home on the 300 block of North Y Street.
The same day, police announced they had arrested her boyfriend, Brenden Michael Terry, 20, after determining Stoffle had been shot to death.
Terry has been charged with murder along with a sentencing enhancement alleging he used a firearm. He pled not guilty.
A first amended criminal complaint filed Wednesday charges Scott with being an accessory after the fact to the homicide.
At the time of shooting, Scott was out of jail on bail or on his own recognizance in a previously filed unrelated felony case.
The prior case stemming from January included a felony charge of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, and a pair of misdemeanors, possession of more than an ounce of marijuana and driving without a license.
He had been scheduled to return to court on that case March 26, the day after Stoffle was killed.
During his arraignment hearing before Judge James Voysey on Wednesday, Scott pleaded not guilty.
The judge set bail at $1 million and continued the matter to April 23, in Lompoc Superior Court.
Stoffle had moved to Lompoc from Texas within the past year.
A Giving Grid page set up by her family raised more than $11,700 as of Wednesday morning.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Cook-Walden Capital Parks Funeral Home & Cemetery in Texas.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.