San Diego

County Jail officials took hair and handwriting samples Wednesday from a man accused of three murders after a Superior Court judge refused his attorney’s request to halt the procedures. Judge Donald Smith denied the writ of prohibition sought by the attorney for David Lucas, who is accused of killing University of San Diego student Anne Catherine Swanke and two others. The action was an appeal of Municipal Court Judge Wayne Peterson’s ruling last week allowing the samples to be taken. Prosecutors want to compare Lucas’ hair to strands of blond hair found in the hand of Suzanne Jacobs, 31, who was killed in her Normal Heights home May 24, 1979, with her son, Colin, 3. Another man, Johnny Massengale, also known as Johnny Massingale, has been charged in the Jacob killings and faces trial for them on Jan. 14. Like Lucas, Massengale could face the death penalty if convicted.