Man Convicted of Killing Mail Carrier Faces Delay in Retrial
A second trial for Gabriel Deluca, whose June, 1984, conviction for murdering a postal carrier was set aside by an Orange County judge, apparently will not begin until the fall.
Superior Court Judge Leonard H. McBride ordered the second trial on the ground that the district attorney’s office had failed to provide a copy of a County Jail report on Deluca to his defense lawyer.
The district attorney’s office has appealed that ruling to a Court of Appeal panel in Santa Ana, prompting the delay in the second trial.
Deluca, now 19, is being held without bail in the Orange County Jail. He appeared in court Friday to waive his right to a speedy trial while the appeal proceeds. Superior Court Judge Richard J. Beacom ordered the Huntington Beach man to return July 12 for a new trial date.
When McBride granted a request by the defense for a new trial on Oct. 5, the judge said he believed Deluca guilty of murder for the January, 1984, stabbing and bludgeoning death of U.S. Postal Service carrier Ida Jean Haxton. McBride said he had no choice but to order a retrial.
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