Prosecutors on Wednesday dropped a lesser felony charge against a Dale City man accused of killing another man and dumping his body in the middle of the street.
Juan Carlos Flores, 25, will not be prosecuted on the charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle. He still faces a first-degree murder charge.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Wednesday morning, but the prosecution asked for a continuance until April 17, saying the medical examiner had not finished an autopsy report yet.
Flores is accused of killing Barbaro Lupe Alonso-Iraola, 47, of no fixed address, on Jan. 15. In a search warrant filed in Prince William County Circuit Court on Feb. 13, a police detective said that witnesses saw Flores with blood on him.
Witnesses said that Flores was present during a conversation where "multiple individuals discussed obtaining a weapon to harm Mr. Iraola," the warrant claims. The warrant says that Flores used his cell phone "to inquire about obtaining weapons" and had a machete when he went off with Iraola.
Iraola was found dead on Cardin Place in Dale City on Feb. 15. Witnesses said that two men had pulled up in a white, older model minivan and left the victim there before they fled the area.
Another Dale City man, Jose Miguel Diaz, is charged with accessory after the fact in a felony. His preliminary hearing was pushed to May 22. He is accused of aiding Flores after the Iraola's death, but police have said he played no part in the homicide.
, with first-degree murder.
