Man pleads guilty to 2 felony assault cases in Laguna Beach

Charles Thomas Kelley IV pleaded guilty to assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and admitted a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury. The plea stems from an incident that took place on Jan. 21, 2023, according to court records, and was reported by one news outlet as a bar fight.

Upon his conviction, Kelley was sentenced to four years in prison and received credit for 1,457 days behind bars.

Kelley pleaded guilty Sept. 11 to attacking his ex-girlfriend on April 19, 2023, and was sentenced to six years in prison in that case. The two sentences will run concurrently.

The victim in the April 2023 case told police that her “on again, off again” boyfriend came to her home the night before the attack, and after drinking for a couple of hours, they began arguing, according to police testimony at Kelley’s preliminary hearing.

Kelley took her phone and vehicle and left, prompting the victim to lock the doors, police said. When he returned, she refused to let him in, so he broke into the living room through a sliding door, police said.

Kelley allegedly threw the victim to the floor and struck her in the face multiple times. The woman escaped and hid near a tree for about 30 minutes.

A booking photo of Charles Thomas Kelley IV when he was arrested in 2023 by Laguna Beach police in connection with an attack on his girlfriend. (Laguna Beach Police Department) She eventually returned to her home in the 1600 block of Tahiti Avenue, where another argument began before Kelley started choking her in the garage, police said.

The victim escaped again and ran to a neighbor’s home, where she hid for another 30 minutes before finding her phone and returning home, police said.

The woman went to take a shower and opened a bathroom window. When Kelley noticed, he said something along the lines of “I see what you’re trying to do there,” prosecutors said in court papers.

Kelley punched her in the stomach and face, pulled her out of the shower and dragged her into a bedroom, where he straddled her and repeatedly punched her in the face and stomach before choking her until she nearly blacked out, police said.

The woman escaped again and went to a neighbor’s home, where someone called 911, police said. She suffered a broken pinky finger during the attacks.

In the domestic violence case, Kelley pleaded guilty Sept. 11 to corporal injury on a cohabitant and criminal threats, both felonies. He also admitted a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury in a domestic violence crime.

Charges of torture and kidnapping were dismissed as part of his plea agreement.

Police sought the public’s help locating Kelley in April 2023. At that time, Laguna Beach police had already been looking for him in connection with the January bar fight, ABC News reported.

Long Beach firefighter-paramedics later recognized him while transporting him to a hospital following an unrelated incident.

Kelley has a lengthy criminal history, according to court records. He pleaded guilty March 19, 2021, in a case involving a knife-point robbery at an ATM in Irvine and a police chase in Newport Beach, according to court records.

He was also convicted of aggravated battery in San Diego County on Aug. 29, 2016, according to court records.

— Assistant editor Sara Cardine contributed to this report.

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