FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A Florida judge took a surprising turn when she dismissed a first-degree murder charge after the prosecutor refused to open his phase of the trial.
Prosecutor Gregg Rossman, waiting for evidence that had gone to another court, refused to either give an opening statement or call his first witness, court officials said.
Then, in a turn that stunned all sides, Broward County Circuit Judge Susan Lebow Tuesday granted the defense's request to toss the case against Jason Stone, 26, of Hollywood, Fla., who could face the death penalty if convicted.
Stone, however, did not go free. He's still behind bars in Fort Lauderdale on an appeal of another case. In the murder case that quickly ended this week, Stone was charged with killing a Florida woman and injuring her boyfriend, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel said.
