Judge Refuses to Drop Homicide Charge
An Orange County judge refused Friday to dismiss charges against a man arrested last year in connection with a 1975 homicide, rejecting defense contentions that police waited too long to link him to the crime.
Police arrested Larry Donnel Paige after matching his fingerprint to a Santa Ana slaying.
In the quarter-century since the crime, 12 possible defense witnesses died and 95 others cannot be found, depriving Paige of a fair trial, attorneys contended.
Superior Court Judge Francisco Briseno denied their motion without elaborating. The trial for Paige, 44, is set to begin Wednesday.
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