Man accused of stiffing auto shop, then killing manager

Larry Fuller Jr. of Redwood City is charged with murder along with the special circumstance of murder to prevent witness testimony. Larry Fuller Jr. of Redwood City is charged with murder along with the special circumstance of murder to prevent witness testimony. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Man accused of stiffing auto shop, then killing manager 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The long-unsolved 2004 slaying of an auto shop manager outside his Brentwood home was committed by a customer who had refused to pay and had, as a result, been charged with grand theft, authorities said Thursday.

The victim, 36-year-old Prisheen Krishna, was slain a day before he was set to testify in court against the customer, Larry Fuller Jr. of Redwood City, who is now 44, investigators said.

Fuller was arrested Wednesday and charged with murder along with the special circumstance of murder to prevent witness testimony. He was also accused of a weapons enhancement and of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The case is being prosecuted in Alameda County because Krishna’s tire shop was in Castro Valley. If convicted, Fuller could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek lethal injection.

Krishna was shot and killed about 6 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2004 on the sidewalk outside the four-bedroom home he shared with his wife on Haddington Court in the upscale Shadow Lakes neighborhood in Brentwood.

The slaying was initially investigated by Brentwood police until investigators realized that the case had ties to the Castro Valley business, said Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction there.

Investigators learned that Fuller had work done on his car in 2003 at Krishna’s shop, Kelly said. Fuller refused to pay the $2,700 bill and was charged with grand theft, authorities said.

Fuller has previous convictions for second-degree robbery, battery with serious bodily injury and perjury under oath, court records show. He is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and is to appear Friday in Superior Court in Oakland.

Krishna came to the United States from Fiji. Besides running the tire shop, he also bought broken-down cars and restored them in his garage, then resold them, an acquaintance said.

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee