Avila’s Trial Is Put Off Until 2004
The capital murder trial of a Lake Elsinore man accused of kidnapping and killing 5-year-old Samantha Runnion was put off until January 2004 after a judge Friday agreed that defense attorneys needed more time to review the evidence.
Over the objections of Orange County prosecutors, Judge William R. Froeberg ordered the trial of Alejandro Avila to begin Jan. 12, 2004. “My primary goal is to try a case one time and one time only,” Froeberg said.
Assistant Public Defender Denise Gragg argued that the defense needed 18 months to review more than 13,000 pages of documents, DNA evidence, cell phone records and hundreds of tips.
Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said he was disappointed by the decision, but that he understood the judge’s reasoning.
Samantha was kidnapped July 15 as she played with a friend outside her Stanton condominium complex.
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