Former Convict Pleads Not Guilty in Kidnaping of Girl, 12, in Lodi
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STOCKTON — A 25-year-old man pleaded not guilty Friday to kidnaping a 12-year-old girl from her Lodi home last weekend.
Steven Reese Cochran appeared in shackles in San Joaquin Superior Court to enter pleas to 21 counts that include kidnaping, burglary and sexual battery.
Judge Connie Callahan scheduled a preliminary hearing for Aug. 16.
Public Defender Dave Adams said Cochran is “rather sad and perplexed” about the charges facing him and the news media furor. Adams said he has told his client not to grant any more media interviews.
Cochran is charged with abducting Katie Romanek from her home last Saturday after tying up her sister and a friend. He was captured the next day during a massive police manhunt 25 miles southwest of Lodi. Katie was found in a field.
Cochran is an ex-convict who has spent much of the last eight years in prison in Arizona.
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