The third capital murder trial for a man charged in the 1993 El Paso deaths of two teens has been delayed for possibly a year in a dispute over phone calls.
The original 1994 trial of Daniel Villegas ended with a hung jury. He was retried a year later, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. An appeals court in 2013 threw out that conviction, citing ineffective counsel.
The El Paso Times reports a new trial was set for this month, but a judge postponed it Monday after prosecutors appealed some of his rulings. The judge earlier Monday found several jailhouse phone calls by the 38-year-old Villegas were inadmissible for trial.
Villegas has maintained his innocence. He served 18 years in prison before being released on bond.
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Information from: El Paso Times.
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