REDWOOD CITY — A Half Moon Bay man who once faced up to life in prison without parole for the deaths of his two young sons in a 2004 San Gregorio house fire may soon find himself out of custody.

A Superior Court judge ruled Thursday to dramatically alter the bail status of Charles Schuttloffel Sr., who was indicted on two counts of homicide by a grand jury last year following a delayed investigation that blamed him for the death of his two sons.

Schuttloffel, 36, has been in custody without bail since his arrest last year. But a judge ruled Thursday to make him eligible for bail and set the amount at $100,000.

The decision to change bail status came in the wake of a plea deal struck between Schuttloffel and the prosecution last month. Schuttloffel pleaded no contest to reduced charges — two counts of involuntary manslaughter — in exchange for a punishment of no more than four years of incarceration for the May 4, 2004 fire.

Schuttloffel had not yet posted bail by late Thursday afternoon.

He is expected to return to Superior Court on July 3 to be sentenced.

Staff writer Michael Manekin can be reached at 650-348-4331 or mmanekin@bayareanewsgroup.com.


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