A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge has denied a motion to dismiss murder charges in a 2005 cold case and set a trial readiness hearing for January 10. Bail remains at $1 million. (File Photo)
By Michael P. Neufeld
San Bernardino, CA – The suspect in a 2005 cold case murder — Dennis Griffin Pease, 56 — appeared in San Bernardino County Superior Court after his attorney filed a defense Kellett/Barker motion for dismissal.
Dennis Pease
Judge Lorenzo Rafael Balderrama heard arguments from defense attorney James Gass and prosecutor Deputy District Attorney Denise Yoakum before denying the motion.
Pease’s next court appearance — for a trial readiness hearing — is scheduled for January 10, 2014, at 8:20 a.m. in Department S-25. An additional request for dismissal will be heard at that time.
Pease is being detained at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on $1 million bail.
THE COLD CASE
Pease is accused of killing Willard Eichler, 54, of Fresno, and dumping his body on Swarthout Canyon Road in the Cajon Pass, on November 11, 2005. Swarthout Canyon Road is located east of the I-15 freeway and south of Highway 138.
Willard Eichler
After his release from prison, Pease was a transient, according to a media release issued by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
In 2011, the Sheriff’s Homicide Cold Case Team took charge of the investigation and completed additional interviews. Evidence from the scene and Eichler’s car was analyzed and linked Pease to the murder.
THE ARREST
A warrant for Pease’s arrest was issued on January 12, 2012, charging him with Eichler’s murder.
On July 18, 2012, Eichler was located by a U. S. Marshal’s Service Fugitive Task F0rce, he was residing in a transient camp behind a gas station in Orlando, Florida. He was eventually extradited to San Bernardino County where he is on trial for Eichler’s murder. (207)