One Convicted in Shooting of Jerry Dunphy

One man was convicted but two others were acquitted by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury today in the 1983 shooting of KABC-TV anchorman Jerry Dunphy.

Frederick Cole, 24, of Los Angeles was convicted of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting, which occurred outside KABC-TV’s studios in Hollywood.

Acquitted were Gregory Chapman, 19, and Joseph Mark Lee, 22, both of Los Angeles, who had been charged with attempted robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.

Dunphy and Sandra Marshall, a makeup artist whom Dunphy has since married, were shot by assailants in an Oldsmobile who pulled up alongside his Rolls-Royce at a stop sign at Prospect Avenue and Talmadge Street and opened fire.

Jury foreman Paul Doemeny, 42, of Long Beach said jury members decided that, on the basis of skimpy evidence presented by prosecutors, Chapman was not at the scene. Lee, he said, was driving the car but did not fire and could not be held responsible for any of his actions because of his medical condition. During the trial, testimony was presented that Lee suffers from schizophrenia.

Cole’s attorney, James Bledsoe, said he was not surprised about the verdict against his client since Cole had admitted complicity in the shooting in a statement to authorities. He added, however, that he was shocked by the jury’s decision to acquit Chapman.

Following the verdict, Lee told reporters that Chapman was also in the car that night, but then said that he didn’t fully recall what took place the night of the shooting.

Dunphy, 63, who has since recovered, was shot in the arm and neck in the incident, which prosecutors said occurred following a spree of robberies by the assailants in the Oldsmobile.