D.A. Appeals Dismissal of Murder Indictment

The county district attorney's office has appealed the dismissal of a grand jury indictment against murder suspect Michael Shultz, saying the decision was beyond the scope of the judge.

Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Frank Ochoa ruled this month that women were underrepresented on the Ventura County Grand Jury and dismissed the indictment of Schultz. The grand jury had indicted Schultz, 32, in 2000 on charges of raping and murdering a Port Hueneme woman in 1993.

In the motion to the 2nd District Court of Appeal, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Schwartz said the number of women on the grand jury was "fair and reasonable."

He said Ochoa's decision means that other indictments from the grand jury could be appealed.

Schultz is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 26.