Trial set for January in Dane Williams case

The San Diego man accused of murdering and sexually assaulting Huntington Beach resident Dane Williams is expected to begin trial in January.

Philong Huynh, 40, is expected to begin trial in San Diego Superior Court at 9 a.m. Jan. 11 for allegedly drugging, raping and killing 23-year-old Williams. The trial is expected to last about a month, prosecutors have said.

Huynh is charged with Williams’ murder and sexual assault and an additional count of sexual assault for sodomizing another man, who survived.

Huynh pleaded not guilty to all charges. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted on all charges, officials said.

Williams, who was in San Diego for a convention as a marketing intern for Hurley International, was last seen leaving a nightclub in the Gaslamp district Jan. 26, 2008.

His body was found three days later in a neighborhood alley 800 feet from Huynh’s unofficial residence, police have said.

Authorities believe Huynh used diazepam, or Valium, to drug Williams.

—Britney Barnes