SANTA CRUZ — The judges ruled Friday that a case against an El Cerrito man accused of killing his Capitola girlfriend should not be thrown out or tried in another jurisdiction because of potential juror bias.
Theobald Lengyel, 54, appeared in Santa Cruz County Superior Court for two separate hearings, each involving motions by his defense attorney Annrae Angel.
Judge Denine Guy found that sufficient evidence was proven to put Lengyel on trial as early as August 19 on charges of murder, burglary and car theft, although Angel argued in her court filings should be dismissed or downgraded for lack of evidence. However, Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Conor McCormick agreed to dismiss the burglary count for lack of evidence, he said.
In a second hearing, Judge Nancy de la Peña disagreed with Angel’s argument that Lengyel could only receive a fair and impartial trial if he were transferred to another county. De la Peña said that neither the nature nor the seriousness of the case distinguished it from other similar cases, nor did she find any evidence that news coverage of the case had been extensive or inflammatory.
Lengyel is scheduled to return to court for a trial readiness conference at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
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