Hearing begins for suspect in Williams case

The preliminary hearing for a San Diego man accused of killing Huntington Beach resident Dane Williams and sodomizing another man began today.

The hearing was split in two to deal with the victims separately, and today’s hearing was about the other victim. The hearing pertaining to Williams is expected to begin in February, officials said.

Philong Huynh, 39, was charged with the death of Williams, who went missing for three days before being found dead in January 2008. Huynh pleaded not guilty to one count of murder and one count of sexual assault for allegedly drugging and raping Williams. He was charged with an additional count of sexual assault for a separate case.

Huynh also has a warrant out for his arrest in Arizona, but for an nonextraditable offense, officials said.

Williams went missing Jan. 26, 2008, after leaving a nightclub in San Diego’s Gaslight district. Authorities found the 23-year-old’s body three days later in a neighborhood alley three miles away. After the initial coroner’s report, authorities found DNA evidence of an unidentified person, but couldn’t link the death to Huynh until he was arrested on suspicion of a second sexual assault.

The second arrest and advances in technology led the San Diego Police Department to discover a link to Williams’ case Aug. 19.

Both victims were allegedly abducted in San Diego’s Gaslight district, said Lt. Kevin Rooney of the San Diego Police Department. Through the cooperation of the second victim and the work of the police department, authorities were able to identify Huynh, Rooney said.

Huynh was arrested by the San Diego Police Department on Sept. 10 and is in custody.

— Britney Barnes