Crime & Safety

L.A. Fire Captain's Murder Case Continued to Nov. 4

Nearly seven months after David Del Toro was convicted, the latest hearing scheduled in his case is postponed.

A hearing scheduled Friday to decide possible jury misconduct in the second-degree murder conviction of former Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. David Del Toro was postponed to Nov. 4 because attorneys for both the defense and the prosecution could not make it to court.

A clerk in the court of Superior Court Judge Lance Ito announced Friday that defense attorney Joseph Gutierrez and Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace had trials whose schedules clashed with the latest hearing in the prolonged case of “People vs. David Del Toro,” which has been underway since 2006.

Del Toro was convicted March 17 of the murder of a San Gabriel woman, Jennifer Flores, whose partially nude body was found near his Eagle Rock home in August 2006. He has yet to be sentenced.

Find out what's happening in Eagle Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A brother and sister of Del Toro who had waited for about half an hour to enter the courtroom when it opened around 8:30 a.m. appeared a trifle taken aback when they heard that Friday’s hearing had been deferred.

“I’m sorry—the attorneys should have called and told you that,” Judge Ito said to Del Toro’s relatives, referring to the hearing’s last-minute postponement.

Find out what's happening in Eagle Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

During the most recent hearing, on Aug. 30, Gutierrez filed a 43-page motion seeking Del Toro’s retrial—and told Ito that it would be appropriate for the next hearing to be held in six to eight weeks. Deputy D.A. Grace requested a hearing in early October because, he said, he’s in the midst of a murder trial that would likely run until the end of September.

Court proceedings in the Del Toro case are being held downtown at the Central District Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on Temple Street, where a trial surrounding the death of pop singer Michael Jackson is also underway.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Eagle Rock