Judge’s Ruling : Night Stalker Trial Ordered in L.A. First

A Superior Court judge in Los Angeles on Friday told attorneys for Richard Ramirez, accused of being the Night Stalker, that he must go to trial on murder charges in Los Angeles before he can be tried in Orange County, where he’s accused of attempted murder and rape.

Judge Michael Tynan’s order ends speculation that Ramirez’s lawyers may decide to postpone his Los Angeles trial so he can be tried first in Orange County.

The defense lawyers, who are in the middle of Ramirez’s preliminary hearing in Orange County, have never said they wanted to go to trial in Orange County first. But, talking to reporters, they refused to eliminate that possibility.

Ramirez is charged with 14 murders in Los Angeles County and is scheduled to go on trial there Sept. 30. His preliminary hearing in Orange County was supposed to start July 14 and was expected to finish by the end of July. However, a debate about whether it should be open to the news media has delayed the hearing, set to continue again Tuesday.

“Judge Tynan heard about these delays in Orange County and got kind of panicky,” said Michael C. Carney, a court-appointed attorney assigned to assist Ramirez’s two attorneys from San Jose. “So he called us all in sort of at the last minute to tell us he wasn’t going to let anything interfere with the L.A. case.”

Carney warned, however, that there may be delays in the Los Angeles trial completely unrelated to the Orange County case. For example, he said, some police evidence that should have been turned over to defense lawyers weeks ago were just received a few days ago. This could mean additional investigation that might delay the trial, Carney said.

Orange County’s Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. James G. Enright said Friday that he is delighted with Tyson’s order. Enright has contended all along that Ramirez should be tried in Los Angeles County first.

“Los Angeles has the more serious charges, and we’ve always tried to have a cooperative arrangement with Los Angeles prosecutors in these situations,” Enright said.

“We’ve had defendants before charged in both counties where Orange County had the more serious charges, and L.A. has always been glad to let our cases go first. So we want to do the right thing by them in this case.”

Also, Enright said, if Ramirez is convicted in Los Angeles County, Orange County might decide not to go to the expense of a trial.

Ramirez is accused of breaking into the home of William Carns and his fiancee in Mission Viejo on Aug. 25, 1985. Carns was shot three times in the head and is still recovering at a therapy center in Texas. His fiancee is expected to be the key witness against Ramirez at his preliminary hearing.