Crime & Safety
Bail Set at $2.4 Million for Alleged Killer
The financial adviser accused of stealing money from and murdering a Santa Monica man in 2008 will enter a plea March 14, prosecutors said.
Arraignment was postponed Monday for the Orange County in connection with the 2008 stabbing death of Santa Monica resident Andrew Merman.
Daniel Becerril II, 35, of Huntington Beach, is now scheduled to enter a plea March 14, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office.
Prosecutors argued that Becerril was a flight risk and requested he be held without bail, but Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba set it at $2.4 million, said D.A. spokeswoman Jane Robison.
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The Public Defender was appointed to represent Becerril, who police allege murdered Merman after he grew suspicious of investments the financial adviser was making on his behalf.
According to prosecutors, Becerril, the owner of AP Financial Group, owed Merman, a Navy veteran and elementary school teacher,
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The Public Defender's office did not immediately return a message seeking comment for this story.
Three other Orange County residents who reportedly worked with Becerril and who were arrested Friday in a related case on charges of money laundering and fraud were scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday, Robison said.
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