Man Pleads Guilty in ’83 Murder for Hire

A Maywood man accused of the 1983 contract killing of a garment district businessman has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in order to avoid a possibile death penalty.

James (Bear) Goodrum, 43, one of three defendants charged in the case, entered the plea before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Aurelio Munoz on Monday after a jury was selected for his trial.

The burly Goodrum had previously admitted to authorities that he slit the throat of Donald Serra, 43, a partner in the Georgia Thread Co., who had threatened to notify authorities about an alleged $225,000 insurance fraud.

In a pretrial hearing, Munoz ruled that Goodrum’s admission could be used as evidence in his trial, Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven M. Barshop said.

Barshop, the prosecutor, said a second defendant, Michael J. Benjamin, 44, of Whittier, has tentatively agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder. Benjamin, product manager for the thread firm, is accused of having served as a middleman in the contract slaying.

The third defendant, David Burton, Serra’s partner in the business, is charged with murder for having allegedly approached Benjamin to make arrangements to have Serra killed.

Burton, 54, could face the death penalty because he is charged with having arranged a contract murder.

Escapes Death Penalty

According to Barshop, Goodrum will not be sentenced to the death penalty or to life in prison without the possibility of parole--as long as he remains willing to testify against Burton, whose preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin Nov. 15. Under the arrangement, Goodrum would instead face a term of 25 years to life in prison.

Serra was killed several months after he and Burton reported that thieves had stolen $225,0000 worth of thread from their firm, which has since gone out of business. An insurance carrier paid off on the loss, Barshop said, but Serra got nervous and threatened to cooperate when state Department of Insurance investigators began asking questions.

Burton, who is being held without bail at Los Angeles County Jail, is accused of approaching Benjamin and asking him to make arrangements to have Serra killed.

Alleged Recruitment

Benjamin allegedly recruited Goodrum at a South Gate bar frequented by motorcycle gangs.

Benjamin also allegedly hired a second person, Susan Roseli, 31, to arrange the murder. Roseli has been granted immunity in return for her cooperation against Burton, who during the last two years worked as a management consultant, most recently for a large insurance company in the Midwest.

Goodrum’s attorney, Steven E. Moyer, said the plea was entered because “in all likelihood after a jury trial the best we could do would be either a conviction of first-degree murder, or, in the alternative, perhaps a conspiracy to commit murder--either of which carries the same penalty, 25 years to life.”