A Gilroy man charged with murder and robbery could stand trial
as early as January.
A Gilroy man charged with murder and robbery could stand trial as early as January.
Otto Emil Koloto, 23, of Gilroy, pleaded not guilty to murder and second degree robbery charges stemming from the July 2008 shooting death of a 27-year-old South San Francisco man. Koloto’s accomplice, Donald Robert Lee, 22 – who originally faced a murder charge that was reduced to an accessory charge – pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year in county jail followed by five years of probation, according to Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Amy Cornell.
After months of searching, police found Koloto hiding out in a South San Jose condominium and arrested him Oct. 2, 2008 for the murder of Philip Lacy, police said
About 2 a.m. July 13, 2008, Koloto shot and killed Lacy in Palo Alto during a street robbery that spiraled out of control, police said. Lee was at the scene of the crime and was Koloto’s accomplice, police said. Lacy had been waiting for friends near the Palo Alto City Hall parking garage after a night of bar hopping, police said. He died from his wounds several days later at Stanford Hospital.
Koloto’s trial is set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 4 in Department 24 of the Hall of Justice in San Jose. At that hearing, the case will be assigned to another courtroom and might start later that day, Cornell said.
