MARTINEZ - Capital murder charges against a man who was about to stand trial in the firebombing of a former boss's house were dismissed Wednesday because of problems with testimony at a grand jury hearing five years ago.

A grand jury indicted Eric Ashley on murder and assault charges in 1998 in connection with the 1995 firebombing of Irvin Henderson's San Pablo home.

Henderson died in the fire.

The 46-year-old Ashley's trial had been scheduled to start Sept. 22.

Instead, prosecutors now will refile the charges and take the case to a new hearing before a judge who will decide whether enough evidence exists for the case to go to trial, said deputy district attorney Dirk Manoukian.

"We spent six years getting to this point. We're two weeks from trial and now we have to start all over. It's very frustrating," he said.

Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Richard Arnason ruled Wednesday that a witness's untruthful grand jury testimony violated Ashley's due process rights, Manoukian said.

The judge threw out the 1998 indictment, which charged Ashley with murder, assault and exploding a destructive device that caused a death.

"(He) put the integrity of our judicial system ahead of the facts of this particular case," Ashley's attorney, Daniel Horowitz, said in praise of the ruling.

Arnason gave Manoukian 72 hours to refile the charges or Ashley will be released from jail.

Authorities allege that Ashley firebombed Henderson's home Nov. 7, 1995. Henderson was trapped in a back room and could not escape the blaze. His wife did escape.

Ashley was arrested soon after the fire. He was sent to prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm after investigators found a gun in his home. He had earlier been convicted of several felonies.

The perjured testimony came from a woman who was in a car with Ashley and his son just before the firebombing, Manoukian said. Lakisha Daniels told grand jurors that she smelled gas when Ashley got out of the car. She said he walked down the street and then returned.

At that point, she said she saw smoke.

What Daniels neglected to mention was that another person was in the car and went with Ashley down the street, Manoukian said. Ashley's son, Aaron Ashley, told investigators after he was indicted on murder charges in 1998 that Terry Lee participated in the bombing.

Both Daniels and Aaron Ashley maintained that Eric Ashley was involved in the bombing.

Manoukian said he does not know why the woman perjured herself by leaving out Lee's alleged involvement when she testified.

"I don't know if she had some compassion for him or if she was afraid of him," he said.

He said his office will refile the charges and plans again to seek the death penalty against Ashley.

Lee, who was 17 at the time of the firebombing, is charged with murder in juvenile court.

Both his trial and Aaron Ashley's will be scheduled after the elder Ashley's takes place.