VISTA, Calif. — Tony Choi, a dog groomer facing multiple felony counts including the attempted rape of a 75-year-old woman, was scheduled for a bail hearing today. However, the proceedings took an unexpected turn when Choi changed from a public defender to a private attorney. As a result, the bail hearing never happened and new dates were set for his next court appearances.
According to Sheriff's deputies, on October 31, Choi approached a 75-year-old woman outside her home near the Torrey Highlands area, offering to wash her dogs. After being invited inside, the 52-year-old groomer allegedly attempted to sexually assault her.
The attack was interrupted by a caregiver, and Choi fled the scene. He was arrested that night outside his home in Solana Beach. Choi is currently in custody with bail set at $1 million. Today's hearing was supposed to discuss potentially lowering his bail, but the change in legal representation prevented this from occurring.
Judge Francisco Sanchez ruled that Choi's face cannot be shown in court, but CBS 8 has previously interviewed Choi following multiple complaints from clients of his dog grooming business.
One former customer, David Miner, expressed concerns about the safety of dogs in Choi's care.
"To see my dog after the fact, she's crawled up in a corner and obviously traumatized," Miner said of his dog's 3 hour grooming experience. "I don't even want to think about what happened in that van."
Despite multiple reports of dogs with apparent grooming-related injuries, Choi currently faces no charges related to his business practices. Capt. Danee Cook of the San Diego Humane Society explained, "It would be hard for us to prove that was malicious intent as opposed to accidental and just kind of poor grooming."
Court records show that Choi has been arrested several times before, including for allegedly driving under the influence of drugs.
He is scheduled to return to court February 10th for a readiness hearing and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 10.
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