Arraignment Set for Man Accused in David Lewis' Murder

The suspect in the murder of East Palo Alto community activist David Lewis is set to be arraigned in San Mateo County Superior Court more than two years after the fatal shooting outside Hillsdale Shopping Center.

Gregory Elarms, 59, had previously been to stand trial in the June 9, 2010, murder of his longtime friend Lewis, according to prosecutors.

Elarms was ordered to be placed in a state mental hospital in July 2011, but last month two doctors determined Elarms' , and trial proceedings resumed.

On Friday, a San Mateo County Superior Court judge granted a motion to allow the defense attorney more time to consider whether to contest the doctors' findings that Elarms' competency has been restored, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Monday.

The case was reset to July 10 for arraignment on the grand jury indictment, and for further criminal proceedings.

Elarms was not in court on Friday due to "a medical problem," Wagstaffe said.

Elarms is suspected of following Lewis from the San Mateo Medical Center to Hillsdale Shopping Center and shooting him once in the stomach with a .44-caliber handgun outside his car on June 9, 2010, prosecutors said.

About six months after the crime, Elarms contacted San Mateo investigators claiming to have a tip about the unsolved case.

As he was being questioned, Elarms allegedly confessed to killing Lewis, even describing the shocked look on Lewis' face after he shot him, San Mateo police Detective Rick Decker testified at Elarms' preliminary hearing.

Elarms was charged with murder, discharging a gun in the course of murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and the special circumstance of lying in wait, which could make him eligible for the death penalty.

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