Man accused of killing two people found dead in a Sacramento home appears in court
The man accused of killing two people last week appeared in a Sacramento County court on Tuesday for the first time. Sacramento Police arrested 44-year-old Manfred Schield after a six-and-a-half-hour standoff on Thursday. Investigators found a man and a woman, identified as Nick Pontliana and Cynthia Torres, dead inside the home. Schield is facing homicide charges for their deaths. He also faces charges for being a felon in possession of a firearm.Before the hearing, the judge ruled that media could not show Schield's face. During his first court appearance, Schield cursed at the people in the courtroom and flipped them off.Schield remains in jail, ineligible for bail.Off camera, longtime friends of Pontliana described him as a "sweet and nice guy." They said he was dealing with some health issues and were saddened to hear about what happened. Schield is set to appear in court again on May 27 at 8:30 a.m.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
