Arraignment postponed for father and daughter charged with kidnapping, sexual assault in Palmdale

LANCASTER – Arraignment had been scheduled for Tuesday, but was instead postponed to Jan. 10 for Stanley and Shaniya Lawton, the father and daughter charged with kidnapping a 46-year-old woman in Las Vegas last month and sexually assaulting her in Palmdale.

Stanley Alfred Lawton, 55, of Riverside, and Shaniya Nicole Poche-Lawton, 22, of Palmdale both face one count each of kidnapping to commit robbery, attempted murder, kidnapping from outside the state and forcible rape as well as three counts of first-degree ATM robbery, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The felony complaint filed on Nov. 14 includes allegations of using a firearm and that Stanley Lawton has prior convictions for attempted murder and robbery between 1984 and 1988.

The victim, who knew the defendants, was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint in Las Vegas and driven to the Antelope Valley where she was sexually assaulted and forced to withdraw money from several ATMs, the prosecutors said. The defendants reportedly then dumped her in the desert near Edwards Airforce Base. She was found on Nov. 6 by military police who were making routine rounds outside the base, sheriff’s officials said.

Bail for Stanley Lawton is set at $4.5 million and $3.5 million for Shaniya Poche-Lawton, according to the DA’s office.

If convicted as charged, Stanley Lawton faces a possible maximum sentence of 260 years to life in state prison and Shaniya Poche-Lawton faces more than 71 years to life in prison.

The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

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