Out on $500k bail in 2020 rape case, Orinda man arrested for allegedly choking 80-year-old woman

ORINDA — An East Bay man has been charged with elder abuse and extortion after he allegedly choked an 80-year-old relative who had helped secure his release on $500,000 bail in a pending rape and child molestation case, court records show.

David Justice, 44, was arrested April 25 on suspicion of attacking the 80-year-old woman in their Orinda home, where Justice had been required to stay since his release on bail in 2020. That year, Justice was arrested after a standoff at an Orinda home and subsequently charged with multiple acts of forcible rape and other sex crimes involving a teen girl.

Justice had been scheduled to go to trial this year, but the 80-year-old woman would later tell police that he became increasingly irritable as the trial date grew closer. On April 23, he allegedly choked the woman for three seconds during a heated argument, then let go but continued to verbally berate her, authorities said.

Police also allege that Justice demanded a firearm from a safe, and that after refusing, his relative retrieved the gun out of fear he’d harm her. She told police he threatened her, telling her she wouldn’t live to see the following morning, but that he didn’t prevent her from leaving the home when she said she wanted to visit a friend.

Oksana Tsykova, an attorney representing Justice, cautioned members of the public from rushing to judgement over the new allegations.

“Mr. Justice denies the allegations in the complaint,” Tsykova said. “The facts will not support the new charges, and people should reserve judgment.”

Justice was arrested two days after the incident, in the parking lot of a smoothie shop in Lafayette, according to public records. He is now back in jail on a no-bail hold, and a criminal protective order has been issued barring him from contacting the alleged victim, court records show.

In the 2020 case, Justice surrendered to police from the same Orinda home he shares with the 80-year-old, after a four-hour standoff. Those charges, which remain pending, involve a teen girl he knew through an acquaintance. It’s unclear how the new allegations will affect his trial date, which had been set for May 16.

Justice is not related to the famed baseball player he shares a name with.