Larry C Ford

The biomedical researcher at the center of an investigation into the recent plot to kill his business partner was himself the victim of an attempted murder when he worked at UCLA some 20 years ago, the detective who worked the case said Friday. Dr. Larry C. Ford avoided serious injury because three cassette tapes tucked into his breast pocket stopped a bullet fired by an assailant who lay in wait for him in a campus parking lot, the detective said.

A yearlong investigation into the attempted slaying of an Irvine drug company executive took a twist Wednesday when Orange County grand jurors indicted on weapons charges the lab assistant of a doctor who police believe masterminded the murder plot. The unexpected move comes as investigators struggle to find the masked gunman who last year shot and wounded Biofem Inc. Chief Executive James Patrick Riley as he arrived for work.

Investigators said Monday they discovered illegal automatic weapons among a small arsenal of guns, ammunition and illegal explosives retrieved over the weekend from the side yard of Irvine biomedical researcher Dr. Larry C. Ford. Some of the weapons found in six buried canisters were decades old, in keeping with Ford's family's assertions that he was an avid gun collector.

A Los Angeles businessman accused of being the getaway driver in an elaborate plot to kill an Irvine drug company executive was convicted Friday of attempted murder, even as investigators continue struggling to identify the gunman and sort out the mystery. The case, set in the backdrop of the South Africa military and high-stakes drug research, centers around last year's shooting by a masked gunman of Biofem Inc. CEO James Patrick Riley as he walked into work at the Irvine Spectrum.

An Orange County Superior Court judge Friday denied a motion to move the Biofem attempted murder case to a courtroom elsewhere in the state. The attorney for Los Angeles businessman Dino D'Saachs asked for the change of venue because of pretrial publicity. Judge Francisco P. Briseno denied the motion without prejudice, meaning the defendant can make the request again. Briseno set July 7 as the time a trial date will be set.

The alleged getaway driver in the botched murder conspiracy against an Irvine medical products company chief has been ordered to stand trial in September. Orange County Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno on Friday set a Sept. 11 trial date for Dino D'Saachs, who pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for July 28.

Families streamed back into an Irvine neighborhood Saturday as authorities completed an excavatin of biomedical researcher Larry C. Ford's backyard that unearthed weapons and military explosives. More than 200 residents were evacuated from their homes Wednesday when police began digging up Ford's backyard. The drug company executive was under investigation in connection with the attempted murder of his longtime business partner. Ford apparently shot himself after police searched his home.

An Orange County judge ruled Friday that a businessman charged with conspiring to murder an Irvine drug company executive must remain behind bars until his trial later this year. Judge Francisco P. Briseno sided with prosecutors who argued that the release of Dino D'Saachs from jail would endanger witnesses in the case surrounding the shooting of Biofem Inc. CEO James Patrick Riley.

The biomedical researcher at the center of an investigation into the recent plot to kill his business partner was himself the victim of an attempted murder when he worked at UCLA more than 20 years ago, the detective who worked the case said Friday. Dr. Larry C. Ford avoided serious injury because three cassette tapes tucked into his breast pocket stopped a bullet fired by an assailant who lay in wait for the doctor in a campus parking lot, the detective said.

In his first interview since being shot in an apparent assassination attempt, the chief executive of an Irvine drug company said Wednesday he remains haunted by a masked assailant who fired a bullet into his face as he arrived for work. Biofem Inc. head James Patrick Riley said he has adopted a low profile since the Feb. 28 shooting--screening phone calls, making sure his security alarms are working and keeping a loaded gun beside his bed. For a time, he hid in a hotel under an assumed name.

A Los Angeles businessman was convicted Friday of attempted murder in an elaborate plot to kill an Irvine drug company executive, even as investigators struggle to identify the gunman and sort out the mystery. The case, which involves high-stakes drug research, centers on last year's shooting by a masked gunman of Biofem Inc. Chief Executive James Patrick Riley as he walked into work at the Irvine Spectrum office complex. Police allege that Riley's business partner, Dr. Larry C.

An Orange County judge ruled Friday that a businessman charged with conspiring to murder an Irvine drug company executive must remain behind bars until his trial later this year. Judge Francisco P. Briseno sided with prosecutors who argued that the release of Dino D'Saachs from jail would endanger witnesses in the case surrounding the shooting of Biofem Inc. CEO James Patrick Riley.

A series of meetings at the Beverly Hills home of South Africa's trade attache are now the focus of the probe into February's attempted slaying of an Irvine drug company executive. The encounters, which took place in the mid-1980s, are under scrutiny because investigators have discovered that all three named suspects in the Irvine shooting conspiracy attended the events, police said.

A series of meetings at the Beverly Hills home of a South African trade attache is now the focus of the probe into February's attempted murder of an Irvine drug company executive. The meetings, which took place in the mid-1980s, are under scrutiny because investigators have discovered that all three named suspects in the Irvine shooting conspiracy attended them, police said.

The alleged getaway driver in the botched murder conspiracy against an Irvine medical products company chief has been ordered to stand trial in September. Orange County Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno on Friday set a Sept. 11 trial date for Dino D'Saachs, who pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for July 28.

Detectives hunting for a gunman who shot and wounded an Irvine drug company executive appealed for help Thursday in finding a Los Angeles man who disappeared the day of the shooting. Investigators have been unable to find Tony Rodriguez, who worked for a businessman charged with driving the gunman away from the shooting. Police said they want to question Rodriguez in connection with the case but stopped short of naming him a suspect. Rodriguez was last seen 1 1/2 hours after the Feb.

Detectives hunting for a gunman who shot and wounded an Irvine drug company executive appealed for help Thursday in finding a Los Angeles man who disappeared the day of the shooting. Investigators have been unable to find Tony Rodriguez, who worked for a businessman charged with driving the gunman away from the shooting. Police said they want to question Rodriguez in connection with the case but stopped short of naming him a suspect. Rodriguez was last seen 1 1/2 hours after the Feb.

Dozens of heavily armed police, FBI agents and hazardous materials experts swarmed a quiet neighborhood Friday to question a surgeon in connection with the attempted murder of an Irvine businessman, marking another twist in the bizarre case. After two days of surveillance, police used a ruse to lure the 69-year-old doctor out of his house: They bumped a dump truck into his parked motor home.

It's been four months since the CEO of an Irvine drug company was shot in what police describe as an elaborate assassination attempt. But while the case has faded from public view, the gunman remains at large and the victim struggles to pull his life--and the company he helped build--back together.

In his first interview since being shot in an apparent assassination attempt, the chief executive of an Irvine drug company said Wednesday he remains haunted by a masked assailant who fired a bullet into his face as he arrived for work. Biofem Inc. head James Patrick Riley said he has adopted a low profile since the Feb. 28 shooting--screening phone calls, making sure his security alarms are working and keeping a loaded gun beside his bed. For a time, he hid in a hotel under an assumed name.