RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - A judge dismissed grand theft and fraud charges Tuesday against former KCBS-TV anchorman Larry Carroll, the San Bernardino County district attorney's office said.
Carroll was indicted in February with two other defendants on seven criminal counts for allegedly trying to solicit a $2 million investment to buy securities, even though none of them was qualified to act as brokers.
Judge J. Michael Welch dismissed Carroll's charges ''in the interest of justice,'' said Deputy District Attorney L. Gordon Isen. He would not elaborate, and Welch was unavailable for comment late Tuesday.
Welch also declared a mistrial for one of the co-defendants, Ronald Bryant Long, who will be retried within 60 days, Isen said. Charges against the other defendant, Michael Alfred Patterson, were dismissed previously.
The three were charged with conspiring to defraud Terry Christensen by offering a no-risk investment that would yield a 47 percent profit per week. They also promoted other investments they said would return profits of 1,000 percent over five days.
A fourth defendant who was charged later and is being tried separately has a court hearing scheduled for February, Isen said.
Carroll left the station in May.