A 29-year-old Palmdale-area man is set to be arraigned Wednesday, April 29, in the killing of Caltech research scientist Carl Johann Grillmair, who was found shot on the front porch of his Llano home in mid-February, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies. Grillmair, 67, was discovered on February 16 and later pronounced dead, and prosecutors have charged Freddy Snyder with murder, along with carjacking and burglary counts. Snyder was arrested after a nearby carjacking and has been held in custody while the case moves toward arraignment.
The arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday in Lancaster, according to Pasadena Now, after an earlier hearing this spring was postponed and reset for April 29. MyNewsLA has also detailed the upcoming court appearance.
Deputies say they were called at about 6:10 a.m. on February 16 to the 30700 block of 165th Street East in Llano, where they found Grillmair suffering from a gunshot wound. Los Angeles County Fire paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, according to CBS Los Angeles. The sheriff's department says deputies investigating that shooting also responded to a nearby carjacking report and arrested a suspect in the area.
Suspect's prior run-ins and charges
Court records and sheriff statements show Snyder was first detained on December 20 after Grillmair reported someone on his property. Deputies say Snyder was carrying a loaded, unregistered rifle and was booked on weapons-related counts that prosecutors later moved to dismiss, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Prosecutors filed murder charges on February 18 that include an allegation he "personally and intentionally discharged a rifle causing great bodily injury and death," and they also accuse him of a carjacking and a December 28 first-degree residential burglary.
Caltech remembers Grillmair
Caltech confirmed the victim was Carl Johann Grillmair, 67, a longtime researcher at the institute's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center whose work with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope helped identify molecules in exoplanet atmospheres, according to a statement from Caltech. "He was part of IPAC's bedrock for many years," IPAC executive director Tom Greene said in that release.
What happens next
Snyder's arraignment will be held in Lancaster, and, per earlier reporting, he was held on $3.175 million bail after his February arrest, according to MyNewsLA. The murder charge carries a special allegation that he personally discharged a firearm and caused great bodily injury or death, which is an enhancement under California law that can add decades to a sentence if proved, per the California Penal Code.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500, the sheriff's office said, according to CBS Los Angeles. Tips may also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
