Crime Victims Witnesses

The father of a gang member-turned-state's-evidence was gunned down over the weekend in what investigators say was revenge or intimidation, but the son, Truong Dinh, testified in Van Nuys as scheduled Monday against the notorious Asian Boyz street gang. Dong Dinh, 64, answered the door at his north San Jose home Friday night and was shot to death execution-style by an unknown assailant. Police said there were no witnesses.

After more than a week of deliberations, a downtown jury deadlocked Tuesday over the guilt of double-murder defendant Randall Williams, who was accused of killing two witnesses. The vote was 9 to 3 for conviction, and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green declared a mistrial. Deputy Dist. Atty. Jessica Dabney said in court Tuesday that she would retry Williams. Prosecutors added that they would decide in the next two weeks whether they would continue to seek the death penalty.

In a rare death penalty case involving a woman, a prosecutor Wednesday began presenting evidence he said will prove Antoinette Yancey carried out the "execution" of a witness to a fatal computer store robbery masterminded by Yancey's boyfriend. But Yancey, 28, of Los Angeles, contends she was duped by her boyfriend and had no idea she was helping set up a 1994 meeting in which the witness was killed, her lawyer also told an Orange County Superior Court jury during opening statements this week.

After more than a week of deliberations, a downtown L.A. jury deadlocked Tuesday over the guilt of double-murder defendant Randall Williams, who was accused of killing two witnesses. The vote was 9 to 3 for conviction, and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green declared a mistrial. Deputy Dist. Atty. Jessica Dabney said in court she would retry Williams. Prosecutors added that they would decide in the next two weeks whether they would continue to seek the death penalty.

A former Canoga Park man was found guilty Tuesday of murdering his ex-girlfriend because she testified in court that he had beaten her, a conviction that makes him liable to the death penalty. A Van Nuys Superior Court jury deliberated for two hours before finding 40-year-old Mark Bowersock guilty of killing Laurie Prejean, 36.

A Torrance woman was found guilty Thursday of capital murder in an unusual case involving the slaying of a witness. Jurors convicted Antoinette Yancey, 28, of helping her jailed boyfriend carry out the shooting of a witness to a fatal robbery at a computer store in Fountain Valley. Although it was a capital case, Yancey will not face execution. Because the jury did not find that she actually pulled the trigger, Deputy Dist. Atty. Rick King dropped efforts to seek the death penalty.

A Valencia man convicted of murdering two witnesses to his burglary was spared the death penalty Tuesday after prosecutors, in an unusual change of heart, withdrew their bid for capital punishment just before the guilty verdict was announced. The dramatic conclusion to the trial of Kenneth Leighton, who now faces life in prison without parole, was the second strange twist in the case. Earlier, there were revelations that a prosecutor had concealed evidence from defense attorneys.

After more than a week of deliberations, a downtown jury deadlocked Tuesday over the guilt of double-murder defendant Randall Williams, who was accused of killing two witnesses. The vote was 9 to 3 for conviction, and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green declared a mistrial. Deputy Dist. Atty. Jessica Dabney said in court Tuesday that she would retry Williams. Prosecutors added that they would decide in the next two weeks whether they would continue to seek the death penalty.

After more than a week of deliberations, a downtown L.A. jury deadlocked Tuesday over the guilt of double-murder defendant Randall Williams, who was accused of killing two witnesses. The vote was 9 to 3 for conviction, and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green declared a mistrial. Deputy Dist. Atty. Jessica Dabney said in court she would retry Williams. Prosecutors added that they would decide in the next two weeks whether they would continue to seek the death penalty.

U.S. prosecutors and counter-narcotics agents were hardly surprised Friday when a federal jury delivered not-guilty verdicts for seven accused members of a major drug-smuggling ring here. But they were furious. On the eve of the trial last week, the government's chief witness was kidnapped in daylight outside his used-clothing business in this sleepy Texas border town, forced across the border into Mexico and brutally slain.

A Valencia man convicted of murdering two witnesses to his burglary was spared the death penalty Tuesday after prosecutors, in an unusual change of heart, withdrew their bid for capital punishment just before the guilty verdict was announced. The dramatic conclusion to the trial of Kenneth Leighton, who now faces life in prison without parole, was the second strange twist in the case. Earlier, there were revelations that a prosecutor had concealed evidence from defense attorneys.

Los Angeles police on Tuesday announced the arrest of a 34-year-old man in connection with the slaying last month of a West Hills man who was allegedly killed to prevent him from testifying in court. Randall Bruce Williams was booked on suspicion of murder late Monday for the execution-style killing of Edward James Navaroli, said Det. Rick Swanston of the LAPD's West Valley Division.

The star witness in the state's case against the notorious Asian Boyz gang telephoned his parents' house in San Jose last Friday after he spent the day testifying against seven of his former associates in the multiple murder trial. "How's it going?" Truong Dinh asked when his brother answered the phone. In shock, the brother told Dinh that their 64-year-old father, Dong Dinh, had been gunned down minutes earlier, after answering a knock at the door. "Are the cops there yet?" Dinh asked.

The star witness in the state's case against the notorious Asian Boyz gang telephoned his parents' house in San Jose on Friday after he spent the day testifying against seven of his former associates in the multiple-murder trial. "How's it going?" Truong Dinh asked when his brother answered the phone. In shock, the brother told Dinh their 64-year-old father, Dong Dinh, had been gunned down minutes earlier, after answering a knock at the door. "Are the cops there yet?" Dinh asked.

The father of a gang member-turned-state's-evidence was gunned down over the weekend in what investigators say was revenge or intimidation, but the son, Truong Dinh, testified in Van Nuys as scheduled Monday against the notorious Asian Boyz street gang. Dong Dinh, 64, answered the door at his north San Jose home Friday night and was shot to death execution-style by an unknown assailant. Police said there were no witnesses.

The father of a gang member-turned-state's-evidence was gunned down over the weekend in what investigators say was revenge or intimidation, but the son, Truong Dinh, testified in Van Nuys as scheduled Monday against the notorious Asian Boyz street gang. Dong Dinh, 64, answered the door at his north San Jose home Friday night and was shot to death execution-style by an unknown assailant. Police said there were no witnesses.

The star witness in the state's case against the notorious Asian Boyz gang telephoned his parents' house in San Jose last Friday after he spent the day testifying against seven of his former associates in the multiple murder trial. "How's it going?" Truong Dinh asked when his brother answered the phone. In shock, the brother told Dinh that their 64-year-old father, Dong Dinh, had been gunned down minutes earlier, after answering a knock at the door. "Are the cops there yet?" Dinh asked.

The father of a gang member-turned-state's-evidence was gunned down over the weekend in what investigators say was revenge or intimidation, but the son, Truong Dinh, testified in Van Nuys as scheduled Monday against the notorious Asian Boyz street gang. Dong Dinh, 64, answered the door at his north San Jose home Friday night and was shot to death execution-style by an unknown assailant. Police said there were no witnesses.

Melinda "Mindy" Carmody was gunned down on a Northridge street for one reason, a prosecutor said Tuesday: She had testified against her ex-boyfriend at a hearing on assault and kidnapping charges and was willing to keep coming to court to see the case through. "Not only is this retaliation for her testimony at the preliminary hearing, but it also prohibits her from doing the job at trial," Deputy Dist. Atty.

U.S. prosecutors and counter-narcotics agents were hardly surprised Friday when a federal jury delivered not-guilty verdicts for seven accused members of a major drug-smuggling ring here. But they were furious. On the eve of the trial last week, the government's chief witness was kidnapped in daylight outside his used-clothing business in this sleepy Texas border town, forced across the border into Mexico and brutally slain.