Community Corner
Preliminary Hearing for Murder Suspect in Culver City Double Homicide
Zackariah Lehnen is charged with fatally stabbing Lucien Bergez and Erica Escobar in Bergez's home in May, 2011. The hearing will take place at the Airport Branch courthouse Monday morning.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled today at the Airport Branch courthouse for Zackariah Lehnen.
Lehnen, a 31-year-old transient, is charged with fatally stabbing 89-year-old Lucien Bergez and 27-year-old Erica Escobar, whose bodies were found in Berger’s Culver City home on May 3, 2011.
According to Culver City Police Chief Don Pederson, Lehnen already has a criminal record, including arrests for domestic violence and narcotics.
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Lehnen, who was arrested in West Hollywood on May 5, 2011, is the only suspect in connection with the double homicide. According to parolee documents, Lehnen was released in late 2010 on non-revocable parole status, which is a new California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation measure that allows "low-level" parolees to be out in society without supervision. Critics have condemned the new law as a mere cost-saving measure that allows those who need supervision to be without it.
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