CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. (KERO) — The suspect charged in the connection with the disappearance of California City woman Desiree Thompson appeared in court for the first time Wednesday afternoon.
Jose Lara pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge. The judge found that Lara is a significant danger to the public and denied bail.
Desiree Thompson disappeared in 2012 after an acquaintance told her mother she had gone to the Cactus Mini Mart in California City to buy cigarettes after she had been in an argument with her estranged husband that same evening.
WATCH ALSO: Missing for a Decade: The Desiree Thompson story
The Cal City Police Department has been investigating since 2012 and in March remains were found in the backyard of a home on 86th Street in California City which Lara rented that year. Those remains have not yet been identified.
Lara is scheduled back in court on May 5th.
