A San Jose area man has been charged with attempted murder and robbery for allegedly attacking a Lompoc doctor earlier this week.
Long Lu, 36, of Sunnyvale appeared in Lompoc Superior Court on Thursday, but did not enter a plea since his arraignment hearing was continued.
He is accused of approaching Dr. Lawrence Reimer from behind, placing a rope around his neck, and pulling him to the ground, according to law enforcement officers.
Lompoc police received a 9-1-1 call about the incident, which occurred as the doctor prepared to enter Lompoc Valley Medical Center.
Lu allegedly continued to hold the rope until Reimer passed out, police added.
At that point, the suspect grabbed the doctor’s property and ran away.
Reimer regained consciousness and began to yell for help as witnesses saw the suspect flee the area.
A search of the area where witnesses last saw the suspect near the 1400 block of East Ocean Avenue resulted in officers finding a person that matched his description.
In addition to the felony attempted-murder and second-degree robbery charges, Lu also faces sentencing enhancements for attacking a victim over age 65 and use of a deadly weapon, identified as a cord in court papers.
Judge Raimundo Montes de Oca issued a criminal protective order to keep Lu away from Reimer.
Lu’s arraignment hearing was continued to March 12.
Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Schoenburg is leading the prosecution team while Deputy Public Defender Sydney Bennett represented Lu.
As of Friday afternoon, Lu remained in Santa Barbara County Jail with bail set at more than $1 million.
— 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.