Bid to Dismiss York, Pa., Murder Charges Rejected

A judge Tuesday rejected a defense attempt to toss out murder charges against the mayor and eight other white men accused of killing a black woman during a 1969 race riot.

Bucks County Judge Edward Biester disagreed with the defense argument that too much time had passed to allow a fair trial. He said information uncovered last year gave prosecutors a legitimate reason to reopen the case.

Biester also said he would not certify his decision, which would have allowed defense attorneys to immediately appeal his ruling.

“This case has been delayed long enough,” the judge said.

Attorneys estimated that it could be six months to a year before the case goes to trial.

Mayor Charlie Robertson and the other defendants were charged earlier this year with killing Lillie Belle Allen, 27, during the riot.

Several members of Allen’s family hugged each other when Biester issued his decision Tuesday.

“I believed that everything was going to be all right. I just had a feeling this was going to happen,” said Allen’s sister, Hattie Dickson, who was with her the night of the shooting.

As he walked out of the courthouse, Robertson said he was not surprised by the decision. Asked how he felt about the prospect of a trial, Robertson said: “I didn’t shoot anybody.”

York County Dist. Atty. H. Stanley Rebert said he was glad the case was moving forward. He said there is “sufficient evidence to convict all of the defendants.”

All the defendants have pleaded not guilty. All of them except Robertson are accused of firing at a car in which Allen was riding on the fourth night of the riots. Robertson, who was a city police officer in 1969, is accused of handing out bullets and encouraging whites to kill blacks before Allen was shot.

Defense attorneys said they expect to appeal Biester’s ruling, but without his certification the Superior Court would have to decide whether it would hear it.

The attorneys had argued that it would be impossible for their clients to receive a fair trial because of the long delay between the killing and the arrests.

They said some witnesses who might exonerate the defendants are dead, memories have faded and important evidence, including the bullet fragment that killed Allen, the car she was riding in and the clothes she was wearing the day of the slaying have been lost or destroyed.

Prosecutors said they had found enough new evidence in their recent investigation--launched last year after newspaper coverage of the unsolved murders generated new leads--to warrant pursuit of the case. They also said the defendants failed to produce any evidence proving that the delay hurts their ability to mount a defense.