Grocer Hawkins Quizzed on Testimony : Prosecutor in Slaying Case Focuses on Apparent Contradictions

Watts grocer James Hawkins Sr., testifying in the trial of his son, James Jr., for the 1983 shotgun slaying of a gang member, faced a barrage of prosecution questions Tuesday concerning apparent contradictions between his current testimony and earlier statements also made under oath.

Hawkins Sr., 75, who swore during a 1983 court hearing that the slain gang member, Anttwon Thomas, 19, had pulled a shotgun from his trousers during the incident outside Hawkins’ store, acknowledged Tuesday he never actually saw who had the shotgun during the tussle.

Hawkins Sr. also denied a previous sworn statement that his son said, “Daddy, we’re in trouble,” moments after the shooting. Indeed, Hawkins Sr. said, he did not see or hear from his son after the shooting until the next morning.

“I’m telling you what I seen,” Hawkins Sr. told Deputy Dist. Atty. Harvey Giss during the acrimonious cross-examination session in the junior Hawkins’ ongoing murder trial.

“Was it a lie back in 1983, what you said?” Giss boomed.

“What I said I was telling to the best of my knowledge,” Hawkins Sr. replied.

National Attention

The Hawkins clan drew national attention after the September, 1983, incident, which precipitated two nights of violence against their home and business by gang members. Shortly after the retaliations--but before charges were filed against Hawkins Jr.--Mayor Tom Bradley and police officials held a press conference at the Hawkins store to voice support for the embattled family.

Hawkins Jr. was not charged until April, 1984--long after the senior Hawkins’ initial court testimony incriminating Thomas--when a witness who said he saw the killing surfaced at a court hearing for 14 of the gang members.

Both sides agree that Thomas was shot shortly after the two Hawkinses broke up an incident outside the grocery store in which Thomas and several other local youths accosted a family riding their bikes through the neighborhood.

But the two sides differ markedly on how Thomas was shot. The defense argues that a sawed-off shotgun Thomas pulled from his trousers accidently discharged during a struggle with Hawkins Jr. moments after the cyclists left. The prosecution charges that Hawkins Jr., using his own shotgun, shot Thomas in a “cold-blooded” manner a full 10 minutes after he and Thomas first exchanged heated words.

Read From Transcript

Giss, during the intense cross-examination, repeatedly read from a transcript of testimony by Hawkins Sr. during a preliminary hearing for the gang members. Seventeen were eventually convicted of crimes involving shooting and hurling Molotov cocktails at the Hawkins family.

Hawkins Sr. said that he heard his son shout that Thomas had a gun--but that he never actually saw the shotgun.

“Does the oath that you took today before you took the stand mean anything to you when your son is on trial?” Giss finally asked.

“I was telling the truth what I am saying now,” the senior Hawkins shot back.

Hawkins, during examination by his own attorney, Janis A. Rader, explained that his previous statements may now appear inaccurate because he did not realize then that he was only supposed to testify about what he had actually seen and heard.

“In essence,” Rader explained outside the courtroom, “none of the attorneys explained to him that he was supposed to testify (only) about his own personal knowledge.”

Giss, on the other hand, said, “My opinion is he’s caught in an outright lie.”