Prelim hearing set for early January for man accused of killing three

The preliminary hearing for a Whittier man accused of killing three people, including two Valencia residents, in a 2016 crash won’t happen until the new year.

Dealio Lockhart, 35, appeared Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court to set a date for a preliminary hearing. He’s charged with murder in a crash that killed Brian Lewandowski, 18, and Michelle Littlefield, 19, both of the Santa Clarita Valley.

He was told, instead, to return to court on Jan. 8 to set the court date, Ricardo Santiago, spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, said Wednesday.

During a preliminary hearing, prosecutors will present evidence in the case, and the defense can respond; the judge can then decide if the case should go to trial.

Both Lewandowski and Littlefield had been enrolled as students at College of the Canyons.

Lockhart is suspected of racing his Dodge Challenger with another driver on Interstate 5 on Feb. 27, 2016, in Commerce, causing a chainreaction collision that killed the two Valencia residents and Scott Treadway, 52, a UPS truck driver from Mira Loma.

Littlefield and Lewandowski were passengers in a Nissan with two other young people who were critically injured.

All four occupants of the Nissan were employees of Six Flags Magic Mountain returning from a trip to Disneyland.

If convicted, Lockhart faces up to life in state prison.