Blair pleads not guilty to charges. Pretrial conference and prelim hearing scheduled Aug. 6

In what appeared to be an unscheduled hearing held Tuesday (July 9) before Judge Randy Edwards, Blair pled not guilty to the charges. The court then appointed Tulare attorney James Baron Oliver to represent her. The court vacated Wednesday's scheduled hearing.

According to the Kings County Superior Court website, Blair's pretrial conference and a preliminary hearing have been set for Aug. 6 at 8:15 a.m.

During the initial arraignment hearing, held Monday in the Kings County Courthouse, Blair was charged by the DA’s office with four new counts including threatening a felony threat to commit a crime “which would result in death and great bodily injury.”

During Monday's hearing, the DA's office charged Blair with knowingly and maliciously attempting to prevent and dissuade her husband, a witness, and victim, from attending and giving testimony at a “trial, proceeding, and inquiry authorized by law.” The two felonies led to a special allegation regarding committing a new offense while out on bail.

Blair was also charged with two misdemeanors, using force against the father of her child and knowingly disobeying a court protective order.

According to the DA’s office, Blair was advised of her legal rights, including the right to an attorney. Blair told the Court she wants her own attorney, but she doesn’t have the funds to hire one.

The judge set bail at $160,000 and ordered Blair to appear in Kings County Superior Court Judge Randy Edward’s courtroom (Dept. 9) on July 10 at 8:15 a.m. to continue her arraignment, but that scheduled hearing was vacated when she appeared in court on Tuesday.

According to the Hanford Sentinel, Blair’s husband, Paul Blair, released a statement Monday afternoon concerning his wife’s recent arrests and mental health.

“My wife, Holly Andrade Blair, has been suffering from serious mental illness and needs help,” he said in the statement. “I feel helpless right now to help her and have little faith that the Kings County Court System will do anything but try to lock her away for as long as possible.”

The Sentinel post has Blair explaining that his wife’s actions are out of character, and he says the safest place for her is in jail. He added that the stress of her position on the Lemoore City Council, her conflict with the Lemoore Police Department and the bullying their family has received was too much for her to bear.

It was on Saturday (July 6) that Blair was arrested for a second time and booked into the Kings County Jail for a variety of charges including the ones listed above. According to a press release, Blair’s spouse, Paul Blair, told police that he felt the threat against him credible, and he feared for his safety and his children’s safety.

Blair was arrested by Lemoore police officers who booked her into the Kings County Jail. The recent developments occurred just one day after her initial arraignment on July 5 for a June 5 incident that resulted in a high-speed chase and ended with her arrest at the intersection of Lemoore Avenue and Cinnamon Drive.

The DA's office initially charged Blair with three felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon (her car), one count of evading a police officer and three misdemeanors. The Judge, Michael Reinhard, also issued a pair of criminal protective orders mandating that Blair stay at least 100 yards away from the Lemoore Police Department and remain clear of victims involved in the June 5 incident.