Vukman

On July 30, 1977, Leslie Edward King was working as a bartender at Woodham’s Bar. At 2 a.m. he heard a noise like a firecracker, turned around, and saw a man pointing a gun at him. The man threw a sack at the victim and said, “Give me the money.” King complied, and the man left.

Over two years later, on August 10, 1979, petitioner was held to answer for this crime on the basis of evidence introduced at a preliminary hearing on that date. Petitioner moved in the court below to dismiss the charges on the basis of insufficiency of the evidence (Pen. Code, § 995) and denial of his statutory (Pen. Code, § 1381) and constitutional rights to a speedy trial. Both motions were denied, and petitioner in timely fashion sought relief in this court through petition for mandate and/or prohibition. This court issued a stay pending opposition, and subsequently an alternative writ.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

The evidence adduced at the preliminary hearing, insofar as it purported to link petitioner with the 1977 robbery, can be summarized as follows. Within a few days King was contacted by the Santa Clara County Police Department who showed him a photographic lineup “something like”…