CARLSBAD — A man accused of shooting to death another man outside his home here a year ago has been exonerated due to contradictory testimony from witnesses.
District Judge J. Richard Brown declined Friday to bind Manuel Baeza over to stand trial on a second-degree murder charge.
Baeza had been accused of killing 40-year-old Joaquin "Jake'' Buendia.
Witnesses who testified — including the victim's brother, Danny Buendia — couldn't agree on whether a quarrel over money led to the confrontation between the two men.
Brown says the witnesses' testimony was so unreliable the state could not use it to provide probable cause that Baeza's actions were unlawful.
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