Washington, 22 July 1997 (RFE/RL) - Authorities have rescheduled the sentencing dates for two men convicted of murdering a Bulgarian diplomat's son in Washington two years ago and have dismissed charges against a third man involved in the case.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office for the city of Washington says prosecutors decided not to seek another trial for defendant Shon Hancock, who was the third suspect charged in the slaying of Evgeny Mihaylov. A jury was unable to reach a verdict in his first trial last spring. The spokesman said prosecutors did not believe they had enough evidence to convict Hancock of participating in the killing of Mihaylov.
Mihaylov was shot outside the front doors of the Bulgarian Embassy on the night of October 23, 1995. Police say he was shot when he refused to hand over his expensive leather jacket to two robbers. Mihaylov died later that night in a hospital.
At a trial earlier this year, a jury convicted Gary Washington and Maurice Sykes of premeditated murder. Washington is to be sentenced on Wednesday and Sykes will be sentenced in September. The U.S. Attorney's office says each faces a minimum of 30 years in prison and that each could be sentenced to life imprisonment.