Charge Against Suspect in ATM Killing Dismissed
A judge dismissed a murder charge Tuesday against a man accused of killing a Jewish community activist during a nighttime robbery at a Westside automatic teller machine.
The victim’s wife, who witnessed the slaying, failed to identify the young man in a lineup and later told authorities she was sure the accused man was not her husband’s killer.
Nicholas James Williams, 19, was released after prosecutors moved to dismiss their charge, which could have brought Williams the death penalty if convicted.
Williams was arrested by police investigating the murder of Jerry L. Weber, 49, of Encino, an official with the Los Angeles Jewish Federation Council. The assailants killed Weber just after midnight on Aug. 22, 1989, after he had withdrawn $40 from a Wells Fargo Bank automatic teller machine in the 3100 block of South Sepulveda Boulevard.
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