A man arrested inside Sandra Bullock’s home should stand trial on stalking and weapons charges, a judge has said.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry A Bork ruled that prosecutors had presented enough evidence against Joshua James Corbett for him to stand trial on multiple felony charges.
Bork’s ruling came after a hearing in which a recording of Bullock’s panicked 911 call was played out in court.
The Oscar-winning actress sounded tearful as she hid in her bedroom closet, guiding police into her house after spotting an intruder last June.
“I’m in my closet. I have a safe door,” the Gravity star was heard telling the dispatcher. “I’m locked in the closet right now.”
She gave the dispatcher a description of the man and said she went out to investigate noises in her home.
“I thought it was a wind blowing,” Bullock said. “Then I saw the person.”
Bullock told police she was not armed and her son was not home at the time. She tried to navigate police through security at her home, which included a gate at her driveway, and gave instructions on how to find her bedroom.
The actress attempted to open the gate from her cellphone, but it didn’t work.
“Now my phone is not working so maybe they know how to override my system,” Bullock told the dispatcher.
Corbett was arrested in Bullock’s house in June while the actress was home. Authorities later found an arsenal of weapons including machine guns, assault weapons and tracer ammunition at his home.
Security footage showed Corbett outside Bullock’s gate each of the three days before his arrest.
A police officer testified that Corbett was clutching a black notebook with a two-page letter to Bullock and magazine photos of the actress when he was arrested.
“He said, ‘I’m sorry. I love you Sandy’,” Los Angeles police Officer Jose Bermudez testified.
Los Angeles police Detective Christina Carlozzi read entries from Corbett’s notebook and a letter he wrote to the Gravity actress the day before he was arrested at her home. The writings called her his wife, professed his love for her, said he wanted to have sex with her and noted the security measures at her home.
“There is two large impervious gates that no one can open but you,” Carlozzi said, reading from the writings found on Corbett. “I hope one day you open them to me.”
The 39-year-old is not accused of having weapons when he broke into Bullock’s Los Angeles home. The actress did not testify at Corbett’s preliminary hearing.
Corbett has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has undergone mental health evaluations while in custody.
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