by Dan Blackburn
A man accused in the fatal beating of longtime Hermosa Beach resident Jeffery Roderick Woods will appear for a preliminary hearing Feb. 16 at 8:30 a.m. in Dept. 8 of the Torrance courthouse.
Joshua Dirnu, 23, of San Diego, was arrested in early October, four months after the attack resulting in Woods’ death. Arresting officers from Carlsbad said Dirnu was taken into custody without incident but that he “appeared to be trying to evade law enforcement.” The suspect remains in Los Angeles County Jail without bail, and has entered a plea of not guilty to a single count of murder.
According to Sheriff’s Lt. Hugo Reynaga, surveillance video obtained from a local business showed Woods, 50, and an individual identified as Dirnu in “some kind of altercation.” Reynaga said the confrontation occurred shortly after midnight in front of a closed business near the intersection of Hermosa Avenue and 16th Street.
The video, which has not been released, reportedly shows Woods staggering away from the site after the other individual had fled, and collapsing against a block wall. He apparently lay unconscious for more than three hours before a passerby notified authorities.
News of the surveillance video’s role in Dirnu’s arrest was revealed by Hermosa Beach Police Chief Paul LeBaron at a Chamber of Commerce event at which he suggested to business owners that they maintain their video equipment, observing they “can be helpful” in criminal investigations. ER
