Hearing set in murder case A transient...

Hearing set in murder case

A transient accused of murdering a man in Laguna Beach last year

will have his preliminary hearing Thursday and could face life in

prison without parole if convicted.

The hearing will take place at Santa Ana Superior Court.

Gregory Pisarcik, 26, is accused of torturing and killing

53-year-old Narciso Leggs and faces charges of first-degree murder

with additional hate crime allegations, Deputy District Atty. Susan

Schroeder said.

Prosecutors believe Pisarcik murdered Leggs in Laguna Beach in

late June, 2002, and that he targeted victims who he thought were

gay. Leggs’ badly beaten body was found in the garage of his Santa

Ana home on June 28. Pisarcik surrendered the next day after a long

police chase that ended in Ventura.

The Laguna Beach Police Department didn’t handle the case because

the body was found outside its jurisdiction, Sgt. Darin Lenyi said.

-- Mike Swanson