Ex-convict to be tried in O.C. shotgun murder case
A 27-year-old ex-convict charged with murdering his friend with a shotgun at point-blank range is scheduled to be tried Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court.
Peter Albert Baltazar is accused of killing James Arrecis on March 2 2009, as he exited his van in Brea. Arrecis had given Baltazar a ride, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.
Baltazar, who lived in Anaheim, fled the scene. He was arrested several months later while serving time at Pelican Bay State Prison for a parole violation stemming from a 2003 robbery, prosecutors said.
The trial is scheduled to begin a 9 a.m. in Department C-29 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.
If convicted, Baltazar faces a maximum sentence of 50 years to life in state prison.
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