The Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in Downtown Long Beach. File photo.
The Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in Downtown Long Beach. File photo.

An 87-year-old Long Beach man accused of fatally stabbing one of his roommates on New Year’s Eve morning pleaded not guilty Thursday to a murder charge.

Ernest Weston is charged in the death of Todd Dunlap, whose body was found about 6:15AM December 31 in an alley near the 900 block of Elm Street.

He was arrested that night, along with James Leonard Pettie, who allegedly helped him dump their roommate’s body.

Pettie, 58, pleaded not guilty to being an accessory after the fact.


 

The three men lived in a home in the 400 block of East Fifth Street, according to prosecutors.

Police said the stabbing stemmed from a dispute, but additional details have not been released.

If convicted as charged, Weston faces up to 26 years to life in prison, while Pettie would face three years in county jail, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

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