Oct 6, 2008 9:12 pm US/Pacific
Charges Against SF Holdup Suspect Dropped
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
San Francisco prosecutors have dropped robbery charges against an 18-year-old-man suspected of holding up a liquor store after the key witness in the case was shot dead.
Prosecutors dropped the charges Monday, conceding they could not prove their case against Larry Blay after the death of the store's owner, 44-year-old Tong Van Le.
Authorities say Le was shot Sept. 13 as he sat in his car in the garage of his Novato home.
His liquor store in Bernal Heights had been held up in August, and authorities say Le identified Blay as one of the suspects in the robbery.
Investigators are trying to determine if Le was targeted.
Blay was in jail at the time Le was shot, and defense attorneys say he had nothing to do with Le's death.
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