Criminal
May 31, 2001
Judge Calls Mistrial In Double Homicide
LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles Superior Court judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in a double-homicide case against a man whose co-defendant was convicted of the same charges last week.
After jurors told Judge Terry A. Green they were leaning 9-3 toward finding Randall Bruce Williams guilty of the November 1998 West Hills execution-style killings of two burglary witnesses, Green released the jury and set a pretrial hearing in the matter for June 12.
In an effort to stave off a hung jury, Green on Thursday allowed Williams' attorney and prosecutors to reargue the case briefly, to no avail. The jury, which deliberated for a week, announced Tuesday that it could not reach a unanimous decision.
The jurors last week indicated they were troubled by one of the victims' purported death-bed identification of Williams to a police officer.
A separate jury last week convicted Williams' co-defendant, Kenneth Charles Leighton, 37, of the murders of Jaime Navaroli and April Mahoney, who were to testify against him in an upcoming burglary case. People v. Leighton, LA033411 (L.A. Super. Ct., November 1998).
Prosecutors said Leighton planned the killings and enlisted Williams to carry them out.
Two members of Leighton's jury said they were not particularly concerned that a prosecutor in the case had been reprimanded for allegedly altering and concealing evidence from defense attorneys.
Green has scheduled Leighton's sentencing for July 13.
Anne La Jeunesse
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