Local News in Brief : Count Against Man in Drug Case Dropped
A criminal case was dismissed against a man accused of giving a bag of rock cocaine to a 9-year-old South-Central Los Angeles boy who brought it to school and shared it with his fellow fourth-graders, prosecutors said.
At the request of the district attorney’s office, Superior Court Commissioner H. Ronald Hauptman dismissed a single felony count of inducing a minor to violate drug laws against Rory Heidelberg, 24.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Terry White said he asked that the case be dropped because the boy, now 10, was not cooperating in preparing for his scheduled testimony at Heidelberg’s pending second trial. Without the child’s testimony, there would be insufficient evidence to prosecute Heidelberg, who faced up to seven years in state prison if convicted, White said.
Heidelberg’s first trial ended in a mistrial when jurors deadlocked 9 to 3 for conviction.
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