Transient Ordered To Stand Trial In Stabbing Death Of Woman, 23, On Hollywood Blvd
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A man accused of fatally stabbing a woman on Hollywood Blvd. after she refused to give him money for a picture she took with her cell phone was ordered to stand trial for murder Tuesday.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar de Longoria ruled the prosecution provided sufficient evidence to proceed in the murder trial of Dustin James Kinnear, 26.
Kinnear is charged in the June 18 stabbing death of 23-year-old Christine Calderon. Calderon was reportedly stabbed in the torso after Kinnear and two other transients demanded she give them money for taking a photo of them with her cell phone.
Co-defendant Jason Joel Wolstone, 33, was ordered to stand trial on charges of assault by means likely to produce bodily injury and two counts of accessory after the fact.
A third suspect, 34-year-old Brian Joseph Widdows is charged with two counts of accessory after the fact.
Robert Harden, the victim's friend, testified he and Calderon had been sightseeing in the area prior to taking cell phone pictures of a man holding a sign.
The men were then heard "harassing us for money," Harden testified. Both Calderon and Harden responded with an obscenity.
Harden identified Kinnear as the third man who charged at them and demanded money. Kinnear "was in Christine's face," according to Harden's testimony.
"I shoved him as hard as I could" before the other two suspects came towards him, Harden testified.
When Calderon responded with an obscenity, Kinnear pushed the 23-year-old to the ground and was on top of her in the street, Harden said.
"When we reached the corner, I realized she was covered in blood," he said.
LAPD Det. Dave Vinton testified Kinnear's co-defendant Jason Wolstone told police Calderon punched him first. Wolstone told police he put Calderon in a headlock before letting her go, according to Vinton.
Judge Villar de Longoria said testimony from witness Tracy Breeding would be "incredible for the court to believe." Breeding claimed to have seen Calderon pull a knife out of her own pocket from three blocks away.
All three suspects remain jailed. Arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 22.
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