Preliminary hearing set for June 14 for Newport Beach man charged in Blaze Bernstein’s slaying

Samuel Woodward, the Newport Beach man charged with murder in the stabbing death of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein, is expected to appear in court for a hearing in June to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to move to trial.

Woodward, 20, appeared in an orange jail jumpsuit in a Harbor Justice Center courtroom Friday and spoke briefly with his attorney before agreeing to set his preliminary hearing for June 14.

The hearing is expected to last a half-day, attorneys told Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones.

Woodward pleaded not guilty last month to a murder charge and denied a sentencing enhancement allegation of personally using a deadly weapon, according to court records.

If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in state prison.

Woodward, a former classmate of Bernstein’s at Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, is being held in Orange County Jail with bail set at $5 million.

Prosecutors allege Woodward killed Bernstein in early January and buried him in a shallow grave at Borrego Park in Foothill Ranch. Bernstein’s body was found Jan. 9 with more than 20 stab wounds.

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