MURDER TRIAL ORDERED IN LANCASTER STABBING.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - A Palmdale man facing his third set of charges in the gruesome stabbing death of an alleged marijuana distributor was ordered Friday to stand trial for murder following a four-day preliminary hearing.

Joseph Bruce Hanson, 36, is charged in the killing of 21-year-old Javier Gomez Rodriguez, whose body was found in June 1998 beneath railroad tracks that run behind a rock quarry north of Avenue T.

Prosecutors first dismissed the case against Hanson in September 1998, saying they weren't ready to do the preliminary hearing because the necessary scientific evidence hadn't been analyzed in time.

The case was refiled after results of DNA tests reportedly showed that blood found in the garage of a Palmdale house where the defendant was living was that of the victim.

After the second filing, Antelope Municipal Court Judge Steven Ogden dismissed the charges following a September 1999 preliminary hearing, saying the prosecution's key witness was not credible.

Hanson's former roommate, Jason Brock, testified that he saw a fight between the defendant and the victim, and that the defendant later asked him to help dispose of a body.

When prosecutors filed the case a third time, Hanson's attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, moved to dismiss the charges on the grounds that it was a third filing and no excusable neglect was involved, but Judge Pamela Rogers denied his motion.

State law says prosecutors can file the same charges only twice against a defendant, unless one of the first two attempts is found to involve excusable neglect.

Flanagan unsuccessfully appealed Rogers' ruling to higher courts, prosecutors said.

Deputy District Attorney John Portillo said he put on more witnesses for last week's preliminary hearing, including a woman with whom the defendant has a child.

That woman testified the defendant showed up at her house one morning the week of the killing at 5 a.m. and said he needed a ride back to his house, Portillo said.

When she dropped him off, the defendant's pickup truck was in the driveway of the house, where the slaying took place, Portillo said.

``This is consistent with Jason Brock's testimony. Brock said the defendant told him he had dropped off the victim's vehicle near (the woman's) house,'' Portillo said.

Flanagan could not be reached for comment Friday. The defense attacked the credibility of Brock during the preliminary hearing, Portillo said.

The victim had been stabbed as many as 16 times in the neck and chest. Police said his body was set on fire after he died, with gasoline or some other flammable liquid poured on him.

Hanson was identified as a suspect after homicide investigators ran a photo of the victim in local newspapers and received calls from people who provided the names of his associates.

Authorities said Rodriguez was a marijuana wholesaler and Hanson was one of the low-level dealers he supplied.