Orlosky Case Progresses...

Bob Orlosky was acquitted of murder charges, and the jury deadlocked on manslaughter charges, after Orlosky was tried for fatally shooting Charles Crow, 23, and wounded Hector Monget, 28, on Dec. 1, 2006. A retrial on the manslaughter charges is scheduled for October. Meanwhile, prosecutors added a new charge (personally using a firearm causing great bodily injury or death), and Orlosky's attorney fought to have it removed.

Today, Orlosky won that fight:

The judge said that based on state Supreme Court rulings in similar cases, “there was no justification” for prosecutors to add an allegation after the trial that would have substantially increased Orlosky's possible prison sentence at a new trial. He said there was no evidence that prosecutors were out to get Orlosky or Pfingst because of the earlier acquittal, but that filing the allegation fit the legal definition of vindictive prosecution.

Agreeing with Pfingst's argument, Hanoian (the judge) said that under Supreme Court rulings, a new or stiffer charge cannot be added after a trial unless it's based on new evidence or information that wasn't available to prosecutors at the time of the initial trial.

A good day for Bob Orlosky, but this is just a skirmish – the main battle still lies in the future...