By Jane Braxton Little
Bee Correspondent
SUSANVILLE - Three days into his preliminary hearing, Robin Glen James, 46, was held today to answer charges that he murdered a Susanville police officer and conspired with the victim's wife to commit the Jan.1 murder.
After determining that enough evidence exists to try James, Lassen County Superior Court Judge Michelle Verderosa scheduled him for arraignment on Aug. 15.
James and co-defendant Joanna McElrath, 36, both of Susanville, were arrested Jan. 6 after Lassen County deputies found the body of Robert McElrath, an off-duty police officer who was married to Joanna McElrath.
Lassen County District Attorney Robert M. Burns charged them with using a prescription narcotic to drug Robert McElrath before using his own car to drive him to an out-of-service highway bridge, where they shot him in the face with his own duty weapon.
James faces felony charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and special allegations that the murder involved lying in wait and the use of a firearm.
The preliminary hearing for Joanna McElrath is scheduled to continue Thursday on similar charges.
She and James have been in custody without bail since their January arrests.









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