Escondido
An eleventh-hour attempt to settle a lawsuit against Escondido and its police force by the surviving husband and mother of Leslie Landersman failed Tuesday.
The wrongful-death suit now will apparently go to trial, but it is unclear when.
The civil suit was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday, but Vista Superior Court Presiding Judge Zalman Scherer said there were no available courtrooms. He told attorneys for both sides that he will try to find a courtroom between today and Tuesday but that the possibility is slim.
More likely, Scherer said, the lawsuit will not go to trial until next summer at the earliest.
Leslie Landersman was shot and killed by then-Escondido Police Officer David DeLange on Aug. 26, 1983, after she was taken hostage by a bank robber. DeLange was acquitted of manslaughter charges, but attorney Melvin Belli of San Francisco is pressing with the civil suit, claiming that DeLange’s and the city’s negligence lead to Landersman’s death.
Belli said he will seek more than $1.2 million in damages.
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