PASADENA — from www.pasadenastarnews.com – A judge on Monday rescheduled the preliminary hearing for the man accused of the torture and murder of Monrovia model Felicia Lee.
The attorney for Brian Randone [pictured] asked for the delay because he said he needed more time to prepare for testimony from two prosecution witnesses.
Both witnesses were late additions to the prosecution’s case.
Judge Dorothy Shubin agreed to delay the hearing until Monday.
Randone is charged in the Sept. 11 death of Lee, who was his girlfriend. Detectives say the woman was beaten and suffocated inside the Monrovia apartment the couple shared.
Lee worked as a model and acted in soft-core adult movies under the name Felicia Tang.
Randone is a former preacher and reality television show actor.
Randone has denied the charges against him.
During the preliminary hearing, prosecutors must president evidence to convince a judge that they have a strong enough case against Randone to take him to trial.
The Los Angeles Country Coroner ruled Lee’s death a homicide by asphyxiation. Toxicology findings revealed GHB and cocaine in the woman’s system when she died.
Defense attorney Mark Overland has said he will argue that Lee died from a drug overdose. He said he has an expert witness to support his contention.
To counter that claim, Deputy District Attorney Philip Wojdak on Wednesday added an expert toxicologist and one of Lee’s friends to the list of witnesses the state will call to testify during the preliminary hearing.
Overland said he wasn’t informed of the additional witness until late Wednesday afternoon and he needed more time to prepare for cross examination of them.
Randone remains in Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail in lieu of $2 million bail