WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Washington prosecutors in the Chandra Levy trial say they have dropped two charges against Ingmar Guandique but two counts of felony murder still stand.
The case will go to the jury Tuesday or Wednesday but without kidnapping and attempted robbery charges, which were dropped because the statute of limitations ran -- out eliminating Guandique's chance of being convicted, The Washington Post reported Monday.
Guandique, 29, a Spanish-speaking illegal immigrant from El Salvador spoke through an interpreter, declining when asked if he would like to take the stand in his own defense, The (Montreal) Gazette reported.
District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Gerald I. Fisher responded: "It's your decision to make. I will instruct the jury at the end of the trial that they cannot use that decision as evidence of your guilt."
By not taking the stand, Guandique, who currently is serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison for attempted robbery, avoids cross-examination that might have brought his criminal record into court testimony.
