Serial-Robbery Trial Delayed

An appeals court Thursday delayed the trial of a suspected serial robber who is charged with holding up cashiers in stores throughout the county.

The 4th District Court of Appeal delayed the trial of Paul William Bresney, 38, of San Diego so it can review a ruling by the trial judge before the trial gets under way.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Kerry Wells filed a writ with the appellate court after San Diego Superior Court Judge J. Perry Langford on Wednesday split up the 56 charges against Bresney and ordered four separate trials.

Langford ruled that Bresney be tried for 15 counts each at three trials, and then for 11 counts at the last trial.

Bresney’s lawyer, Charles Elliott, had successfully argued that bunching all of the cases together in one trial would be prejudicial to Bresney.

Bresney is accused of being the “Walk to the Back” robber, who told his victims to go the back of the store he was holding up while he made his getaway. The robberies began Jan. 3 and continued into April. Bresney was arrested April 21.

The order halting the trial came just as potential jurors were called to the courtroom.

The appellate justices are expected to review Langford’s decision and make a ruling within a few weeks.