Cop’s charges upgraded to murder

Charges against a police officer accused of killing a suspect in San Pedro have been upgraded from manslaughter to murder. Constable Burton Caliz appeared today before Justice Michelle Arana to offer a plea to the original manslaughter charge arising from the death of Leroy Pilgrim, but was informed by the prosecution that the charge had been upgraded. Caliz, who had been out on eight thousand dollar bail since March 2004, was immediately remanded into custody. The case against Caliz arises from an incident on February twelfth, 2004 in which Caliz accosted Pilgrim near his home and took him to an area near the lagoon where Caliz shot Pilgrim in the head. The police version is that Caliz and Pilgrim became involved in a struggle in which Pilgrim was shot.