At a preliminary hearing Wednesday morning, a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge gave prosecutors permission to pursue felony charges against Ricardo Apollo King, Jr.

King, a former UCSB student, was arrested April 8 after allegedly trapping a student living in San Rafael Residence Hall and attempting to rape her in her room. King also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest after skipping a court date related to his Feb. 26 arrest for allegedly stealing $400 worth of textbooks from the UCSB Bookstore.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Joyce Dudley said after the alleged victim and UC Police Dept. Officer Seth Parker testified in court Wednesday, Judge Joseph Lodge found there was sufficient probable cause to warrant King’s arrest and continue the trial. He ruled that King would be held to answer on charges of felony false imprisonment and felony attempted rape.

Rory Moore, King’s public defender, announced at the hearing that King wished to waive his right to a preliminary hearing on the felony charges of grand theft and commercial burglary stemming from his alleged shoplifting from the bookstore.

King will enter his plea for each of the four charges at his arraignment, which Lodge set for June 24.

The preliminary hearing was originally scheduled to take place May 19. However, when Dudley informed the court that she had uncovered new evidence in an interview with the victim, Lodge postponed the hearing until Wednesday, June 2, to give the defense time to review the new findings.

King’s father was present at the hearing to give support for his son, who has been held in the Santa Barbara County Jail with a bail of $250,000 since his arrest. Dudley said she talked with him at length and took his statements about King’s character into consideration.