Murder Los Angeles

A security guard currently in jail awaiting trial in the murder of a Brentwood high school student has been plotting the assassinations of a judge, a prosecutor and a police detective involved in the case, Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner said Wednesday. Reiner said he was announcing the alleged "unprecedented" multiple-murder plot because the would-be contract killers are still at large.

His mother said a quiet prayer of thanks. His father dropped his head and rubbed his eyes. Four years after Los Angeles High School football star Jamiel Shaw II's death, the gang member accused of gunning him down because he was carrying a red Spider-Man backpack was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder. Jurors deliberated for barely half a day before returning the guilty verdict against Pedro Espinoza, now 23. The panel found to be true allegations that Espinoza committed the crime in association with a gang and that he personally discharged a firearm.

Ending a second trial with a compromise verdict, a jury convicted a Fountain Valley man Monday of second-degree murder for his involvement in the execution-style slaying of his business partner. David Thayne Smith, 34, was found guilty in the slaying of Stefan Sweetser Oct. 16, 1992, at a Tarzana construction site. The jury in Smith's first trial deadlocked 6 to 6 on a first-degree murder charge. Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Kathryne Ann Stoltz scheduled sentencing for Nov. 23.

Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies aren't taking any chances with convicted killer Benjamin Pedro Gonzales. Considered one of the most dangerous inmates in the California penal system, Gonzales arrived this week from Corcoran State Prison to face murder charges in the 1989 stabbing death of a 22-year-old Cerritos College student. Authorities have spent about $25,000 to remodel cells for him in the Men's Central Jail, where he is housed by himself.

The number of reported crimes by precinct from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30.

Emergency lights flashing, the '79 Chevy station wagon barreled down Victory Boulevard like an ambulance early Christmas morning, speeding and running red lights along the way, police said. Roberto Perez, allegedly drunk, was at the wheel, in a hurry to get his pregnant wife to the hospital. Michelle Pagan, 26, returning to her Woodland Hills home in her Honda Civic after Christmas Eve dinner at a friend's house, probably never saw Perez coming. Their paths crossed at 3:15 a.m.

Opening statements made Tuesday at the trial of Amber Merrie Bray and her boyfriend, Jeffrey Glenn Ayers--both charged in the slaying of Bray's mother--were in agreement that Ayers, at least, was involved in the killing. "This is not going to be a case of who done it," said Deputy Public Defender Patricia Mulligan, Ayers' lawyer. "But more of a why done it."

Murder and attempted-murder charges were filed Tuesday against two men and a 16-year-old boy in connection with last week's dead-end shooting that killed 3-year-old Stephanie Kuhen. Marcos Antonio Luna, 23, and Marvin Alejandro Pech, 18, were held in lieu of $3.5-million bail each after an appearance in Los Angeles Municipal Court. Each faces a count of murder and five of attempted murder.

One man died and four people--including a 9-year-old boy--were wounded Saturday night in two drive-by shootings in Van Nuys, authorities said. Two men were shot in the 14100 block of Sherman Way near Hazeltine Avenue about 8:25 p.m., said Lt. Al Dravidzius of the Los Angeles Police Department. The victims were sitting on a bus bench when shots were fired from a dark-colored car, police said.

One of two teenagers accused of killing a man by setting him afire in a convenience store parking lot in May has been arrested, authorities said Wednesday. Jose Manuel Carranza, 18, of Sylmar, was arrested Monday and was being held at the Men's Central Jail, said Det. Lance Steaman of the San Fernando Police Department. Authorities were still seeking his alleged accomplice, Edward Bazaure, 19, of Woodland Hills.

Opening statements made Tuesday at the trial of Amber Merrie Bray and her boyfriend, Jeffrey Glenn Ayers--both charged in the slaying of Bray's mother--were in agreement that Ayers, at least, was involved in the killing. "This is not going to be a case of who done it," said Deputy Public Defender Patricia Mulligan, Ayers' lawyer. "But more of a why done it."

Emergency lights flashing, the '79 Chevy station wagon barreled down Victory Boulevard like an ambulance early Christmas morning, speeding and running red lights along the way, police said. Roberto Perez, allegedly drunk, was at the wheel, in a hurry to get his pregnant wife to the hospital. Michelle Pagan, 26, returning to her Woodland Hills home in her Honda Civic after Christmas Eve dinner at a friend's house, probably never saw Perez coming. Their paths crossed at 3:15 a.m.

One of two teenagers accused of killing a man by setting him afire in a convenience store parking lot in May has been arrested, authorities said Wednesday. Jose Manuel Carranza, 18, of Sylmar, was arrested Monday and was being held at the Men's Central Jail, said Det. Lance Steaman of the San Fernando Police Department. Authorities were still seeking his alleged accomplice, Edward Bazaure, 19, of Woodland Hills.

Staff writers Fredric Tulsky and Ted Rohrlich and the small army of people who worked on the "And Justice for Some" series (Dec. 1-7) should be congratulated for an absolutely first-rate piece of investigative journalism. The Dec. 1 article, in particular, should serve as a wake-up call for people who believe that the solution to crime is to invoke harsher penalties. The proponents of "lock-'em-up!" justice fail to consider the staggering cost of the criminal investigation that is required before the state can lock 'em up. It's no wonder that only one in three homicides results in a conviction.

Randall Sullivan's monumental (in every sense) book about Joe Hunt and the Billionaire Boys Club is full of excellent ironies. One of my favorites is that in May of 1984, both the world class con artist Ron Levin and Jim Pittman (a.k.a. Graham), the former security guard who later admitted on "A Current Affair" but not in court that he shot Levin in the head, were both driving around Los Angeles in Rolls-Royces obtained under suspicious circumstances.

Los Angeles police on Wednesday identified a woman found slain in her burning pickup truck last week as Sandra Gallagher of Santa Monica. Police said she was strangled before the truck was set ablaze. Gallagher, 31, was found in the truck about 6 a.m. Saturday in the 13000 block of Victory Boulevard. Detective Stephen Fisk said an autopsy had determined that Gallagher was strangled to death, then left in the truck to burn.

Los Angeles police on Wednesday identified a woman found slain in her burning pickup truck last week as Sandra Gallagher of Santa Monica. Police said she was strangled before the truck was set ablaze. Gallagher, 31, was found in the truck about 6 a.m. Saturday in the 13000 block of Victory Boulevard. Detective Stephen Fisk said an autopsy had determined that Gallagher was strangled to death, then left in the truck to burn.

His mother said a quiet prayer of thanks. His father dropped his head and rubbed his eyes. Four years after Los Angeles High School football star Jamiel Shaw II's death, the gang member accused of gunning him down because he was carrying a red Spider-Man backpack was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder. Jurors deliberated for barely half a day before returning the guilty verdict against Pedro Espinoza, now 23. The panel found to be true allegations that Espinoza committed the crime in association with a gang and that he personally discharged a firearm.

Murder and attempted-murder charges were filed Tuesday against two men and a 16-year-old boy in connection with last week's dead-end shooting that killed 3-year-old Stephanie Kuhen. Marcos Antonio Luna, 23, and Marvin Alejandro Pech, 18, were held in lieu of $3.5-million bail each after an appearance in Los Angeles Municipal Court. Each faces a count of murder and five of attempted murder.

One man died and four people--including a 9-year-old boy--were wounded Saturday night in two drive-by shootings in Van Nuys, authorities said. Two men were shot in the 14100 block of Sherman Way near Hazeltine Avenue about 8:25 p.m., said Lt. Al Dravidzius of the Los Angeles Police Department. The victims were sitting on a bus bench when shots were fired from a dark-colored car, police said.