SACRAMENTO — Sid Reams, the 66 year-old real estate agent accused of a host of sexual assault charges, died Wednesday during heart surgery at UC Davis Medical Center.
He was scheduled to appear again in court on Friday at 9 a.m.
Last week while his public defender spoke to the judge on his behalf, Reams was at an area hospital getting checked out for what was said to be a faulty valve that was at one time scheduled to be replaced or repaired at UC Davis Medical Center.
The state-owned teaching hospital is located in Sacramento. The Sacramento County Coroner’s office confirmed that Reams had passed away on May 20 – noting that they had only been informed and were not in possession of the body.
Reams has been in the custody of the San Joaquin County Sherriff’s department as an inmate in the county jail since he was arrested on April 16 and was initially held on $150,000 bail. The amount was increased to $250,000 when additional charges were levied against him.
In one of his first court appearances, Reams had Public Defender Christina Catania request that he be released from custody to handle his medical problems – noting that without the surgery it was very likely that he would die. Judge Richard Guiliani denied the motion.
It was the last time that he’d set foot in a courtroom before his death.
As a longtime Manteca resident, Reams maintained a high public profile with his two unsuccessful runs for City Council, and a monthly cable access show that he developed and hosted called Manteca Magazine. He also wrote a part-time, unpaid column for The Bulletin in which he would regularly invite people to meet him at church. He also spent a period of time selling advertising space for the Sun Post, and his position as a Realtor for various companies over the years also made him highly visible in the community.
The self-proclaimed advocate for the homeless also organized a community homeless rally at Library Park where free clothes were given away and a meal was served to anyone who wanted to come down.
Reams was being charged with three felony counts – including abuse of a dependent adult, rape with a foreign object, and forced oral copulation – as well as misdemeanor sexual battery charge, and was set to be in court on Friday morning for the first of a two-part hearing on whether there would be sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial.
Deputy District Attorney Gina Della Maggiore didn’t return phone calls for comments as of press time.
He was scheduled to appear again in court on Friday at 9 a.m.
Last week while his public defender spoke to the judge on his behalf, Reams was at an area hospital getting checked out for what was said to be a faulty valve that was at one time scheduled to be replaced or repaired at UC Davis Medical Center.
The state-owned teaching hospital is located in Sacramento. The Sacramento County Coroner’s office confirmed that Reams had passed away on May 20 – noting that they had only been informed and were not in possession of the body.
Reams has been in the custody of the San Joaquin County Sherriff’s department as an inmate in the county jail since he was arrested on April 16 and was initially held on $150,000 bail. The amount was increased to $250,000 when additional charges were levied against him.
In one of his first court appearances, Reams had Public Defender Christina Catania request that he be released from custody to handle his medical problems – noting that without the surgery it was very likely that he would die. Judge Richard Guiliani denied the motion.
It was the last time that he’d set foot in a courtroom before his death.
As a longtime Manteca resident, Reams maintained a high public profile with his two unsuccessful runs for City Council, and a monthly cable access show that he developed and hosted called Manteca Magazine. He also wrote a part-time, unpaid column for The Bulletin in which he would regularly invite people to meet him at church. He also spent a period of time selling advertising space for the Sun Post, and his position as a Realtor for various companies over the years also made him highly visible in the community.
The self-proclaimed advocate for the homeless also organized a community homeless rally at Library Park where free clothes were given away and a meal was served to anyone who wanted to come down.
Reams was being charged with three felony counts – including abuse of a dependent adult, rape with a foreign object, and forced oral copulation – as well as misdemeanor sexual battery charge, and was set to be in court on Friday morning for the first of a two-part hearing on whether there would be sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial.
Deputy District Attorney Gina Della Maggiore didn’t return phone calls for comments as of press time.
