FILE PHOTO: Richard Lawrence Kalfin was arrested in 2011 for allegedly beating a man to death with a baseball bat at Lakewood Wal-Mart. Photo by Brittany Murray / Staff Photographer
| ? POLICE NEWS
BELLFLOWER -- A 48-year-old transient charged with bludgeoning a Lakewood man to death inside a local Walmart was found mentally fit to stand trial Friday.
Defendant Richard Lawrence Kalfin has pleaded not guilty to the Nov. 1, 2001, slaying of David Oakleaf, 74, of Lakewood.
A mental competency hearing was held Friday morning to determine whether Kalfin was mentally capable of understanding the charge against him, and able to respond to attorney's questions and aid in his defense.
Bellflower Superior Court Judge Richard Ghoul found Kalfin fit for trial and scheduled his preliminary hearing for Jan. 16. Preliminary hearings are used to determine if there is sufficient evidence to hold a trial.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators and prosecutors allege Kalfin selected an aluminum bat in the sporting goods section of the Lakewood store and attacked Oakleaf, striking him repeatedly and causing massive head trauma. Lakewood deputies called to the Walmart at 2770 Carson St. were able to arrest Kalfin without incident.
Witnesses at the scene said Kalfin may have followed Oakleaf into the store and attacked the victim after Kalfin asked the victim for money in the parking lot and was refused. Several terrified witnesses that had been inside the business recalled seeing and hearing the violent attack. Kalfin was detained by store security guards immediately after
the attack as shoppers and employees were evacuated from the store.Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department homicide investigators said there was no evidence of any contact between the two men prior to the slaying. The entire beating was captured on the store's surveillance video and turned over to authorities and appeared random and unprovoked on the video, sheriff's authorities said.
Investigators noted, however, that the two men may have had contact prior to entering the business.
Kalfin, who is being held without bail, is charged with first degree murder and an allegation that he has a previous felony conviction for Arson in 2005. If convicted on all counts, he faces the possibility of 57 years to life in prison, according to prosecutors.
tracy.manzer@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1261, twitter.com/tmanzer
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