JURY HEARS TRIAL'S CLOSING STATEMENTS; MEN CHARGED IN MURDERS OF 2 VICTIMS.Byline: Phillip W. Browne Daily News Staff Writer LaCedrick Johnson drove the getaway car getaway car n the thieves' getaway car → el coche en que huyeron los ladrones getaway car n → voiture prévue pour prendre la fuite in the murder-robbery of Laurie Myles and was present during another murder-robbery, but he doesn't deserve the death penalty, his attorney told jurors Tuesday. ``He is not going to qualify as citizen of the year, but he hasn't been charged with being callous or a jerk,'' Johnson's attorney Mike Shannon Mike Shannon (born July 15, 1939) is a former American Major League Baseball player and current radio sportscaster. Mike Shannon has become a beloved broadcaster among Cardinals' fans, having been raised in St. said during closing arguments in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Superior Court. In addition to the two murder charges, the Canoga Park man is charged with conspiracy and five special circumstances special circumstances n. in criminal cases, particularly homicides, actions of the accused or the situation under which the crime was committed for which state statutes allow or require imposition of a more severe punishment. including murder during a robbery and lying in wait, which could bring the death penalty if proven. But Shannon told the jurors that Johnson was merely present during the robbery and slaying of 20-year-old Talin Kara Kara (kär`ə), river, c.140 mi (230 km) long, NE European and NW Siberian Russia. It flows N from the N Urals into the Kara Sea, forming part of the traditional border between European and Asian Russia. It is navigable in its lower course. Tarkhanian, did not participate and did not conspire con·spire v. con·spired, con·spir·ing, con·spires v.intr. 1. To plan together secretly to commit an illegal or wrongful act or accomplish a legal purpose through illegal action. 2. with the two men also accused in the crime. Prosecutors have proven during the three-month trial only that he aided and abetted in the crime, far less serious than conspiracy, Shannon said. ``He took up space in the car. That's all he did,'' Shannon said. ``The crime would have turned out the same with or without Johnson in the car.'' He was the getaway driver in the September 1993 robbery-slaying of Myles, Shannon said. Johnson, 25, and one-time Faith Baptist High School basketball star Etienne Moore, 26, both of Canoga Park, are charged with six felonies including conspiracy, robbery and murder of both Myles and Tarkhanian - crimes which capped a violent 1993 crime spree in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . A third defendant, Shashonee Solomon, 37, is charged with one count of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in Tarkhanian's slaying. Prosecutors said Solomon ordered Tarkhanian's death after she broke off a romance with him and threatened to tell his parole officer about his crimes. Myles, 37, of North Hills, was shot to death Sept. 15, 1993, as she and her son waited to pick up her teen-age daughter from Bible study Bible study may refer to:
Six weeks later, police found Tarkhanian's body slumped over the wheel of her car near De Soto Avenue and the Simi Valley Freeway. The 20-year-old Reseda woman had been shot in the head. Moore's attorney, Michael Adelson, also began his closing statements Tuesday, again attacking the credibility of the police investigation and witnesses who are prone to lying, he said. ``When certain officers in this case decided Moore was the culprit, they began drawing the target around the arrow,'' Adelson said. Closing arguments are scheduled to continue today. |
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