Preliminary Hearing Set for Hillsdale Mall Murder Suspect

A preliminary hearing date has been set in San Mateo County Superior Court for the man accused of gunning down beloved East Palo Alto community leader David Lewis outside Hillsdale Mall in June 2010.

Though the defense attorney for Gregory Elarms, 58, had expressed doubt his client was competent to stand trial, on Thursday the case was reinstated and sent to Judge Mark Forcum for jury trial.

The next step is to hold a preliminary hearing, and should sufficient evidence be found for Elarms to stand trial, the issue of his competency will be examined next.

Elarms, 58, is David Lewis, 54, as Lewis got out of his vehicle in a Hillsdale Mall parking lot on June 9, 2010.

The evening of the murder, Lewis got off work at San Mateo Medical Center and was spotted by Elarms in the parking lot there. Police say Elarms then followed Lewis to Hillsdale Mall and shot him at about 5:40 p.m.

The case went unsolved for six months until Elarms reportedly called police on Dec. 18, 2010, and gave a statement "inculpating" himself in the crime, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

Elarms was arrested and has been in custody without bail since. He is charged with first-degree murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait, as well as with being a felon in possession of a gun, which makes him eligible for the death penalty.

He has .