Northridge Man Convicted in 1982 Hired Murder of Real Estate Agent

A San Fernando Superior Court jury Wednesday convicted a Northridge businessman of second-degree murder for hiring two men to kill a real estate broker who was trying to claim title to his home.

Prosecutors had urged the jury to find Manghit Singh Jandu, 41, guilty of first-degree murder in the 1982 death of Century 21 broker Ronald Colton. But jurors said after the verdict they did not believe there was enough evidence to convict Jandu of the more serious charge.

The jury took almost a week to reach a verdict at the conclusion of the six-week trial. Deliberations had to be started over twice when two jurors became ill on separate days and were replaced by alternates.

A previous jury, which heard the case last summer, split 9 to 3 in favor of acquitting Jandu, the former owner of a Sepulveda car repair business.

3 Charged With Murder

Jandu was one of three men charged with murder after Colton, 45, was found shot to death in the garage of a vacant house in Sylmar in October, 1982. Kelly Lee Morgan, 36, of Granada Hills and Herman Parrish, 33, of Pacoima were convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting.

Morgan is serving a life sentence without possibility of parole in San Quentin State Prison. Parrish is serving 25 years to life in Folsom State Prison.

Jandu, who was ordered to appear for sentencing May 23, could receive a maximum term of 15 years to life, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Frederick G. Stewart.

According to testimony during the trial, Colton secured a $15,000 loan to Jandu in November, 1980, with a lien against Jandu’s family home in the Porter Ranch area of Northridge. When Jandu missed several payments, Colton foreclosed on the house and purchased it at a foreclosure sale. To protect his interest in the house, Jandu filed for bankruptcy.

Eviction Sought

Colton sued to evict Jandu but was slain eight days before the matter was to go to court. Defense attorney Annette Dordoni said Colton’s widow later settled the civil suit out of court.

Jandu denied any connection with Colton’s murder and said a $2,400 payment he made to Morgan three days after the slaying was for the purchase of a car and auto parts.

Both Stewart and defense attorneys Dordoni and Michael White said that the second-degree murder verdict came as a surprise.

“It should have either been first-degree murder or acquittal, and this second-degree conviction could very well have been a compromise verdict, even if the jurors deny it, even if they are consciously unaware of it,” White said. “There will definitely be an appeal.”

Lesser Charge ‘Rational’

But prosecutor Stewart, noting that all the evidence he presented in the case was circumstantial, said it was “rational and reasonable” for the jury to vote for the lesser charge.

“The more serious a charge, the more hesitant a jury is to vote guilty, especially when they’re dealing with circumstantial evidence,” he said.

“We couldn’t find any evidence at all that they sat down and actually planned this thing out,” said juror Ruth Albrecht of Chatsworth. “But there was just so much circumstantial evidence stacked up there to prove that he was involved in that murder. This was by no means a compromise verdict.”

Indian Community Leader

Jandu was vice president of the Sikh Study Circle in Hollywood and a leading member of the Indian community, according to a family friend.

“One jury comes back 9 to 3 that he is innocent, and then another comes back saying he has done this thing,” the woman said. “It all just seems like such a flying chance. He never had any criminal record before this. His family is taking this very, very hard.”