LOS ANGELES : Man May Try to Withdraw Guilty Plea in Murder
A Persian Gulf War veteran who pleaded guilty to murdering an award-winning TV news engineer asked Thursday that his sentencing be postponed because he may try to withdraw his plea.
Last month, John Louis Rex, 23, admitted that he robbed and killed KCOP-TV engineer Jeff Webreck, then buried his body in the Angeles National Forest. Rex was due to be sentenced Thursday to 30 years to life in prison under an agreement with prosecutors.
But he asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lance Ito to postpone the sentencing until Wednesday, to give him time to consider filing a motion to withdraw the plea. “I had no idea at all that he was going to do this, none whatsoever,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Lester Kuriyama. “His own attorney didn’t even know. “
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