Trial rescheduled for man accused of killing clerk

The preliminary hearing for a Newport Beach man accused of killing a liquor store owner while out on bail for robbery and domestic violence charges has been rescheduled for March 27, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Weston Scott Kruger, 29, is charged with killing Hao Huynh July 28, 2007, after Huynh confronted Kruger about allegedly stealing a magazine from his store. Prosecutors claim Kruger violently knocked Huynh to the ground, where his head slammed against the payment, prosecutors say. He died in the hospital a day later.

Kruger was on bail from an August 2006 domestic violence charge, when he allegedly shoved his girlfriend’s face into moist dog food and hit her with a metal pole, according to authorities. His pre-trial conference for that is scheduled for Sept. 12. While on bail, he was arrested in April 2007 on suspicion of robbing a home. A pretrial hearing for that case is scheduled for Sept. 27.

Kruger is in Orange County jail and ineligible for bail.

— Joseph Serna